European directives allowing free movement of labour have led to an influx of sub-contracted workers to the UK. Following a string of strikes, some uncomfortable issues need to be grasped, say Jean-Francois Gerard and Louise Taylor
Think back to earlier this year when two big news stories jostled for front page space. Canny editors combined the two, running photographs of striking workers standing on picket lines while snowstorms threatened to obliterate their ‘British jobs for British workers’ placards. Two months on and snow has given way to spring, but the issues that prompted the strikers onto their picket lines still smoulder on, fuelled by the worsening economic situation.
