Wildcat strikes set to increase as foreign worker row escalates

Published on Sunday 1 February 2009 21:16

WILDCAT strikes are expected to spread today in an escalation of the row over foreign labour ahead of frantic moves to try to resolve the increasingly bitter dispute.

Hundreds of contract workers at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria are due to hold an early- morning mass meeting to discuss taking industrial action.

Contractors at the Heysham nuclear power station in Lancashire are also expected to decide whether to join the unofficial walk-outs in support of workers at the Total oil refinery in Lincolnshire, where the dispute started.

It is understood officials from Total will meet with sub- contractors and union leaders for hastily-arranged talks in Scunthorpe today.

Moves are also under way to set up a panel, under an independent chairman, to review the recruitment of hundreds of Italian and Portuguese workers on the 200 million Total plant at the giant Lindsey oil refinery at North Killingholme.

Unions claim Britons were not given any opportunity to apply for the posts.

Gordon Brown, the Prime Minister, was yesterday accused of inflaming the row after he condemned the outbreak of wild-cat strikes as "indefensible".

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, urged the government to do more to resolve the row rather than "blame" British workers.

Mr Brown came under attack after he criticised the unofficial strikes which were held at up to 20 construction sites at the end of last week, involving thousands of workers.

Lord Mandelson, the Business Secretary, also stepped into the dispute when he warned protectionism would be a "sure fire" way of turning the recession into a depression. Mr Kenny accused Mr Brown and Lord Mandelson of inflaming the situation, adding: "We should be doing everything we can to look for a solution rather than blaming the workers."

Meanwhile, it was revealed Lord Mandelson held a private meeting on Saturday with Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite in a bid to try to find a breakthrough.

Total issued a statement last night stressing it had never been its policy to discriminate against British firms or workers.

Earlier yesterday, Mr Brown said he recognised people were "worried" about jobs being taken by foreign workers but stressed that the UK was part of a "single European market".

When asked what his message would be to those thinking of staging sympathy strikes today replying, Mr Brown said: "That that's not the right thing to do and it's not defensible.

"When I talked about British jobs, I was taking about giving people in Britain the skills, so they have the ability to get jobs which were at present going to people from abroad and encouraging people to take up the courses and the education."

Will there be more protests today about "British jobs for British workers"?

Union shop stewards will meet workers at 7:30am at six sites across Scotland – Grangemouth, Longannet, Cockenzie, Torness, Mossmorran and St Fergus – to discuss future walkouts. Action is also expected at the Sellafield nuclear processing plant in Cumbria. Union leaders yesterday warned of widespread anger, which could cause action to spread.

Isn't secondary picketing illegal?

Yes, which is why union leaders have been careful not to endorse the action, though they have great sympathy with workers' discontent. They say the current dispute highlights a problem they have been raising for years.

Will it affect petrol supplies or lead to power cuts?

Not in the short term. On Friday, all power plants said the workers who walked out were not front-line staff. But Unite has warned that a shutdown of a site such as the Grangemouth oil refinery could cause major problems within a month.

Where did all this start?

The initial dispute was sparked at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire. It is run by the French firm, Total. An Italian firm, IREM, won a 200 million contract from a Total sub-contractor, California-based engineering group Jacobs. As part of its successful bid, IREM stipulated that its work would be done by 400 Italian and Portuguese staff. UK unions believe these foreign workers are being paid less than UK rates – effectively pricing British workers out of British jobs.

What kind of workers are affected?

About 15,000 British workers – a transient population of pipe fitters, steel erectors, mechanical fitters, welders, scaffolders, insulators and electricians. They typically earn 30,000-35,000 a year.

Is European law to blame?

Possibly. A "posted workers directive" came into force in the European Union in 1999. This is meant to prevent the undercutting that unions suspect has occurred. It is up to member states to decide how to implement EU directives, and the concern is that the UK government, by only insisting that foreign firms paid the minimum wage, made it easy for them to favour cheaper imported workers.