Comments:Mass industrial walkouts in UK

This action is what needs to happen here in the U.S.--

A call for protectionism?
I think there are some gaps in the story. As I understand it, the incoming Italian and Portuguese workers are permanent staff of the company that won the contract. If that genuinely is the case, then those on strike are in the wrong. The incoming workers are also EU citizens, why should they be made redundant?

On the other hand, there were apparently five competing British bids for the same contract. Serious questions need to be asked about why none of these more local companies could offer a more competitive bid. Apparently the pay to employees is in line with what UK workers would receive, the Italian company has to fly these 3-400 workers in, and is providing a floating hotel near the work site. You start to wonder if they can do all this, and put in a more competitive bid, what are all the extra costs making the Brit bids uncompetitive. Are the companies, like their financiers in London, just greedy bastards who want too much profit? I don't know, the bids may have been competitive. Perhaps the Brit firms lost out because they would have to spend three months re-recruiting all the skilled workers they laid off and the Italians were smart enough to retain their workforce. "When can you start?" could have been a huge influencing factor for Total in awarding this bid. --Brian McNeil / talk 18:28, 31 January 2009 (UTC)