Walkouts as Total start sackings

Hundreds of workers have walked out in support of nearly 900 construction staff sacked at the Lindsey Oil Refinery.

The sackings came after about 1,200 workers walked out unofficially at the Lincolnshire plant in a jobs dispute.

Workers at the Ensus biofuels site at Wilton, Teesside, and Aberthaw power station, in south Wales, are among those who have come out in support.

Union officials are at Lindsey for talks with plant owner Total.

The sacked Lindsey workers had been building a new plant next to the existing site, but withdrew their labour last week in protest at a sub-contractor axing 51 jobs while another employer on the site was hiring people.

The workers argued this broke an agreement not to cut jobs at the site, but Total insists no such agreement was in place.
A number of sites walked out in support of the contract workers who have lost their jobs in Lincolnshire:

At the Ensus site all 1,100 workers have walked out, according to a company spokesman

About 300 workers are protesting outside Aberthaw

More than 100 contract maintenance staff have walked out at the Stanlow Oil Refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire.

Workers have also downed tools at Ferrybridge power station in West Yorkshire.