British Unions, Angry Over Use of Foreign Workers, Stage Walkouts

British labor unions have organized walkouts to protest skilled construction jobs going to workers from elsewhere in the European Union. “The disruption underscored rising fears of labor unrest across Europe – and renewed pressure from unions for a retreat from the European Union’s rules on open labor markets – as job losses across the Continent mounted into the hundreds of thousands with the global financial crisis,” writes John Burns for the New York Times. Regulations that protect local workers often increase wages, and conflict with EU labor rules. Taxpayers can save great sums by hiring skilled workers from Eastern Europe, but also question the wisdom of stimulus packages and infrastructure construction that provides jobs for non-citizens. – YaleGlobal