Indian professionals in Britain are uneasy over growing resentment among recession-hit British workers who have been protesting against offering employment to foreigners. A wave of strikes has hit several companies,including oil major Total,in Nottinghamshire and other places in Britain to protest employing foreign workers. The resentment is so far limited to employing workers from the European Union,but Indian professionals fear this may well assume racist overtones and affect them adversely. An Indian software professional,currently in Britain on the Highly Skilled Migrants Programme (HSMP),says fearing the worst due to the tighter immigration laws and recession,she has started looking at job options in India and elsewhere. "The anger of British workers can easily spill over into racism against all foreign workers and professionals,including Indians. The environment is becoming difficult for us by the day," she said. Protests and strikes by British workers have also been opposed by leading figures in the Gordon Brown government,particularly Business secretary Peter Mandelson and Indian-origin Labour MP,Keith Vaz. Describing the strikes and protests as "dangerous",Vaz said Britain could not close its doors in a globalised world.
