The Hindu : International : Brown’s policy termed employment apartheid

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Nov 11, 2007
ePaper

International

International

Brown’s policy termed employment apartheid

Hasan Suroor

Keith Vaz criticises Premier statement
Pandering to Right-wing, says Cameron

LONDON: In an extraordinary attack on Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s immigration policy, Britain’s most senior Labour Asian MP and a former Minister, Keith Vaz, has challenged him over his pledge about “British jobs for British workers” calling it an “employment apartheid.”

Mr. Vaz, who was briefly Europe Minister in the erstwhile Blair government and currently chairs Commons’ Home Affairs Select Committee, described Mr. Brown’s remarks as a “false attempt to answer to Right-wing propaganda” that immigrants were taking away British jobs.

Mr. Brown made the pledge at the Labour Party conference in September in response to concerns over British jobs being outsourced to other countries including India, and to counter claims that “uncontrolled” immigration threatened employment opportunities for native Britons.

In a blistering criticism, while speaking in the Commons, Mr. Vaz said any move to restrict jobs on considerations other than merit would be in breach of Britain’s international obligations to the Commonwealth and European Union countries.

“I worry about this statement. It lacks credible arguments and some have suggested that it appears to amount to little more than employment apartheid,” he said. Mr. Vaz questioned the assumption that “foreign workers are somehow stealing jobs from U.K. workers, an idea for which there is absolutely no evidence.” He also wondered what Prime Minister meant by “British”.

“It also raises the question how do you ensure jobs are going to British people and what do you classify as British?” he asked.

Mr. Brown’s statement also drew condemnation from the Tory leader David Cameron who accused him of borrowing slogans such as “British jobs for British people” from far-right parties like the British National Party and the National Front.

“I did a bit more research to find out where he got his slogans from… Where was his moral compass when he was doing that?” he asked referring to Mr. Brown’s oft-repeated claim that he was guided by his “moral compass”.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail