“..That such conditions exist is a scandal, and all the more appalling for having happened under Labour’s watch
We are where we were: that’s the insiders’ view.
The EHRC report has simply put an official stamp on what many of us have known – and been deeply worried about – since early 2000.
A combination of factors – deregulation, globalisation, the fall of the Soviet Union, and the formation of new pools of labour thanks to the expansion of the EU – led to a race to the bottom in terms of labour standards.
The food and drink sector, driven by the supermarkets, has been at the forefront of this.
New technology that allows supermarkets to order at the last minute only what they know they can sell has resulted in an unprecedented casualisation of labour, not just in rich western countries but in the poorer countries, too.
Labour standards have been driven down everywhere.
The impact has been obvious on the ground for a very long time.
In the UK the effect is particularly apparent in rural areas – but because many of these areas are Conservative, the government for too long ignored the protests of local workers, or dismissed them as xenophobic hostility to migrants.
In factories and on big industrial farms there has been an incredible transformation of work – such things as 24/7 shift patterns ..
.. and the constant pressure to cut costs have turned what used to be decent jobs into terrible ones.
These newly terrible jobs have usually been taken by migrants, often illegal.
In this climate, abuse and exploitation flourish ..
.. and racial tensions grow as people see cheaper foreign workers being used to undercut local, more established workers..”
go to source/story>>EHRC food factories report: Perfect storm has led to a race to the bottom | Felicity Lawrence | Society | The Guardian
