February 03 2008 ... British Jobs for British Workers?

Leaving aside the potential for political tiger-traps in the statement 'British Jobs for British Workers', the fact is that the UK is a trading bloc whose comparative advantage is the soundness of its contracts. Which is why Russians, Chinese and many nationals from around the world choose to invest in the UK. This is not to suggest that Germany, France or the US are lacking in the soundness of their contracts, at the present time, but the UK has a reputation developed over centuries and predicated on the fact that the UK relies upon global trade so as to be able to finance the quality of life, UK citizens currently expect/demand to enjoy.

As per the ongoing fracas surrounding the Total, Lindsey Oil Refinery dispute, the Italian and Portuguese workers are in place via a contract which is not in contravention of EU legislation, even though member-states' interpretation of what that means in practice, has somewhat fluid boundaries, which may be open to arbitration by ACAS, or consideration by the ECJ.

It is claimed by Keith Vaz (MP) that the UK owes 3.5-million jobs to the inward investment mtoivated by the UK's mebership of the EU. And it is claimed that UK trade has been sifnificnatly enhanced by being within the EU. Irrespective of the 'in spite of or because of' attributes of these claims, it still remains true that sound contracts as a way to assess and reduce risk, are vital for trade and commerce at this pitch to be possible. Thus, if Total were to be coerced into abandoning its labour contract, there may be short term gains for thr British agitators, but, in the long run, Total can sell up and move someplace else, inward and local investment could and probably would be deterred, and there would be fewer jobs for British workers.

This has happened before when rampant union activity during the post-WW2 years persuaded many UK/British firms to simply relocate to the far east. This loss was subsidised by the governments of the time, and the UK ended up in a financial meltdown, barely escaping bankruptcy in the 1970s. This could so easily happen again if unionised and misguided protectionism allied to a communist mentality is permitted to come to the fore. A phenomenon on the rise in the US via the obvious conflict of interests as a consequence of the stimulus packages: American tax dollars/bail outs for 'Made in America' goods and services. Or, as in Germany: No bail out for Opel because it bails out GM. Thus German firms and 'made in Germany, by Germans' only.

Like the UK is integrated with the EU, and the EU and US is integrated into the global economy via their investments in Russia, China, Southeast Asia and India, etc., and reciprocally, to support a retreat towards the protectionism of 'British Jobs for British Workers' would undermine the contracts already in place for current and future economic success, which, in turn, would cause British jobs to be lost and/or never exist.