Mirror’s divisive front
The Daily Mirror newspaper ran a divisive front page last week blaming migrants for unemployment.
It’s headline, “What About British Workers?” complained that seasonal minimum wage jobs at Next’s warehouse in South Elmsall, Yorkshire, were being advertised in Poland before they are seen locally.
The Mirror sets “home grown workers” against Poles, as if Polish workers are the problem rather than the money grubbing company.
Next argues that they have been advertised locally too. It has trouble recruiting locally as its wages are so low, with under 21s not even paid the minimum wage of £6.50 an hour.
On Monday of this week the Mirror carried seven letters attacking the migrants, the lead one blaming trade unions that “have done little to stop these dubious practices”.
The GMB union has rightly campaigned for Next to pay the living wage of £7.85 to its all its workers.
This included leafleting Polish workers to join the union and the fight for better pay.
But the Mirror’s attacks show that it’s not only the Tories and Ukip that are scapegoating migrants.
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