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Scottish Unite official Bobby Buirds' comments that the current strike are "not against foreign workers, it's against foreign companies discriminating against British labour" confirms that the strike is against bosses, not fellow (foreign) workers. The foreign workers are just doing what any of us would do if we were desperate for work, but the media have turned this into some "foreigners go home" trip again. Foreign workers regularly suffer appalling living and working conditions, along with low wages and little in the way of representation. Given that the contract was awarded to the lowest-bidding tender, it is likely that these are the same conditions being faced by the Italian workers on Humberside.

If this had been any other strike against bosses, say for pay or safety issues, there would have been no national media coverage, save for the union bulletins and the socialist papers. However, this strike, despite the assurances of the unions, allows the media to latch on to an imaginary wave of xenophobia and whip up the country into a frenzy. Sky News and newspapers such the Daily Mail, the Sun, Daily Telegraph, Daily Express and the Times have all jumped at this opportunity, despite being the first media outlets to criticise any strike action amongst workers. By polarising the debate into 'native' versus 'foreign' workers, these capitalist newspapers are shifting the argument from a workers versus bosses position to workers versus workers. This tactic of dividing the working class is not new, and is exactly the kind of behaviour we should be expecting from the ruling class in the midst of a financial crisis where the potential for unified working class organisation is at it's most potent.

This strike has been racialised beyond belief. Don't fall into the trap of attacking foreign workers, unite against the bosses you have nothing in common with.