Nativism/racism lurking in British wildcat strikes

There's been a wave of recent wildcat Strikes among British construction (and other industries) workers, brandishing signs calling for "British jobs for British Workers". While labor militancy is usually something that I categorically welcome, it is becoming clear that this phenomenon is deeply complicated by nativism, racism and xenophobia. British fascists are unsurprisingly ecstatic.

Read the UK SWP's statement on "British Jobs for British Workers" here.

Lenin's Tomb has had a series of thoughtful posts on this troubling development, the most recent of which notes that resisting the temptation to either cheerlead for the wildcat Strikers or to wholly dismiss them as racist xenophobes is the starting point for any reflective, critical analysis.

Over at Histomat, the most recent post laments that:

"Unfortunately, Britain has also been hit over the last week by 'the wrong kind of strikes' - ie. not strikes against the power of capital or even against a particular multinational or national capitalist enterprise - but a strike against er, other workers. Genius."