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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Protest over power station jobs | Protest over power station jobs |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| Hundreds of union members are protesting at the site of a new power station over claims overseas workers were being hired instead of UK staff. | Hundreds of union members are protesting at the site of a new power station over claims overseas workers were being hired instead of UK staff. |
| Unite and the GMB said vacancies for jobs at the Staythorpe site in Newark, Nottinghamshire, were being filled by Spanish and Polish workers. | Unite and the GMB said vacancies for jobs at the Staythorpe site in Newark, Nottinghamshire, were being filled by Spanish and Polish workers. |
| The unions said the decision by contractors building the plant to hire non-British workers was "a scandal". | The unions said the decision by contractors building the plant to hire non-British workers was "a scandal". |
| Engineering firm Alstom said three quarters of workers there are British. | Engineering firm Alstom said three quarters of workers there are British. |
| Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, said: "Staythorpe is a national scandal. We are seeing thousands of jobs being lost daily but at Staythorpe there is skilled, well-paid work available. | Derek Simpson, joint leader of Unite, said: "Staythorpe is a national scandal. We are seeing thousands of jobs being lost daily but at Staythorpe there is skilled, well-paid work available. |
| "It's a disgrace that local workers with years of experience are being locked out of the job." | "It's a disgrace that local workers with years of experience are being locked out of the job." |
| Fair play | Fair play |
| Steve Burgin, UK president of Alstom, said 12 of the 14 subcontractors used at Staythorpe were from the UK. | Steve Burgin, UK president of Alstom, said 12 of the 14 subcontractors used at Staythorpe were from the UK. |
| He said that two Spanish subcontractors, Montpressa and FMM, had "not refused to employ British workers but what they are doing is employing their own existing workers. | He said that two Spanish subcontractors, Montpressa and FMM, had "not refused to employ British workers but what they are doing is employing their own existing workers. |
| "If they need additional staff they will consider British workers on an equal basis with any other labour." | "If they need additional staff they will consider British workers on an equal basis with any other labour." |
| Mr Simpson said engineering giant Alstom, which is building the site for power giant RWE, had the power to insist that the sub-contractors end the "scandalous" situation. | Mr Simpson said engineering giant Alstom, which is building the site for power giant RWE, had the power to insist that the sub-contractors end the "scandalous" situation. |
| "UK workers must be given a fair chance to get a cut of the action to build a new generation of UK power stations. They are not asking for special favours, they are demanding fair play. | "UK workers must be given a fair chance to get a cut of the action to build a new generation of UK power stations. They are not asking for special favours, they are demanding fair play. |
| "The UK needs to upgrade and build new power stations and there are huge opportunities to create thousands of well-paid and highly-skilled jobs. | "The UK needs to upgrade and build new power stations and there are huge opportunities to create thousands of well-paid and highly-skilled jobs. |
| "Unite will not stand by and allow our members to languish on the dole while there is work in the UK." | "Unite will not stand by and allow our members to languish on the dole while there is work in the UK." |
| Unite estimates that 600 workers will be needed to build the power station's turbine and boiler and another 250 workers to build the pipe connecting the two. | Unite estimates that 600 workers will be needed to build the power station's turbine and boiler and another 250 workers to build the pipe connecting the two. |
| in a statement Alstom said the vast majority of its 5,000 UK employees were UK nationals. | |
| "Over the full, 30-month lifecycle of the Staythorpe build, we estimate that British workers will complete the majority of the work and will form the overwhelming majority of permanent staff. | |
| "Any claim that there will be no UK workers on the mechanical engineering phase is simply inaccurate and false," it said. | |
| "We have never - and will never - discriminate on the basis of nationality. It would be morally wrong and illegal to do so. That is the basis of both UK and EU employment law." |