On Saturday 6th August supporters of Fight Racism! Fight Imperialism! North East held a picket of the Byron Burgers restaurant in Newcastle. The picket was against the recent immigration raids, which Byron and the Home Office orchestrated, when Byron workers were pounced upon by immigration police in a phoney health and safety meeting called by Byron, and subsequently 35 workers have been arrested and deported.
The protest assembled in front of the restaurant demanding an end to all immigration raids and decent work for all whether people have papers or not. There was a lot of support from people passing-by and stopping to listen to speeches. The 2016 racist Immigration Act will see this type of collusion between businesses and the Home Office increase. The new laws have been put in place to create a hostile environment for migrants to make it almost impossible to live in Britain. If an employer is found to hire anyone who to does not have the legal right to work then they can face fines of £20,000 per worker and up to 5 years in prison. This will have the effect of forcing migrants into even worse jobs, with worse pay and next to no rights – exactly what British capitalism needs into order to grow.
Anti-racists made the important point: that we will not fight another member of the working class over a job, a council house or a hospital bed. Our fight is not with migrants. Our fight is with the government, the local Labour council, the banks, big business, the police and the racist media. And we will fight them, side by side with our migrant brothers and sisters demanding decent jobs, housing and healthcare for all.
Fight the racist Immigration Act! End immigration raids! Solidarity with the Byron workers!
