On 5 August Edinburgh Revolutionary Communist Group joined the picket of Byron Burgers on North Bridge by the Royal Mile. The protest had been called by the Edinburgh Migrants Solidarity Network and followed actions against Byron Burgers all over Britain. Protestors walked into the store leafleting staff and customers about the collaboration of Byron bosses with the racist immigration controls of the UK Home Office and UK Borders Agency.
On 4 July fifty migrant workers from Byron restaurants across London were called by their bosses to attend a bogus training session. When they arrived thirty five workers arrested by the UKBA immigration police waiting for them. Some of the workers had been working at the store for four years – sixty or seventy hours a week in some cases, contributing to Byron’s record profit and growth in the last year. At the time of writing thirty five workers from Albania, Brazil, Nepal and Egypt – have been deported.
Despite the aggression of the store management and the presence of police, the picket held its ground for over two hours, blocking the entrance to the store. RCG comrades led an open megaphone with chants and speeches against Byron Burger bosses, immigration controls and deportations, highlighting the racist, imperialist nature of the British state. Crowds of over a hundred people gathered to listen and give their support. To defend the rights of migrant workers is to defend the rights of all workers, to stand with refugees is to stand against racism, austerity and war orchestrated by the British ruling class at home and abroad. We reject the notion that one worker is ‘legal’ and another ‘illegal’ whilst migrants and refugees are driven from their lands by war, systematic under-development and exploitation and then refused the right to work and welfare when they arrive. We demand papers for all or no papers at all!
Protests have been taking place across Britain to punish Byron Burgers for collaborating with the racist immigration act and stabbing their workers in the back. The next Migrant Solidarity protest against Byron Burgers in Edinburgh will be Saturday 13 August, meeting at 1pm outside Usher Hall, Lothian Road. Join us!
