More than a thousand workers at the Lindsey oil refinery are refusing to work this morning with hundreds staging a protest outside the plant after learning that a number of contractors would lose their jobs.
Total, the French energy group that owns the refinery, estimated that about 1,200 contractors, who are building an extension to the plant, had stopped working and that about 600 had gathered outside the project entrances.
The North Lincolnshire plant, one of Britain’s biggest oil refineries, was hit by mass industrial action in January over the use of foreign workers. The strike saw hundreds of construction staff stage a walk-out after the company brought in Italians and Portuguese to build a new unit rather than use local employees.
The latest bout of industrial action began yesterday morning after workers discovered the results of a recent consultation on redundancies. One of the site’s sub-contractors had sent letters to 65 employees informing them that their jobs were at risk, as the mechanical stage of the project they are working on is about to be completed.
Union officials have been in talks with the contractor’s management and Total since Wednesday night.
Advertisement
In a statement, Total said it was “extremely disappointed” that the contractors had decided to walk out and that it wanted them to return to work and end their “illegal” action immediately.
The company also dismissed suggestions by some workers that those being made redundant were being victimised for the industrial action earlier this year, adding that the redundancy process was normal on any contract as and when different phases of the project are completed.
The refinery continues to operate normally and is not affected by the action.