Power plant workers stage walkout

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/uk/7883764.stm

Version 0 of 1.

Up to 200 power plant staff have begun a wildcat strike after colleagues were threatened with dismissal in a row over foreign employees, union sources claim.

They walked out at Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire after 40 steel workers faced action if they joined a demo over foreign contractors, GMB sources said.

Hundreds of workers had held a protest claiming UK employees were denied jobs.

Contractor Alstom confirmed 50 workers had failed to turn up for work, while denying claims of discrimination.

The unofficial action follows a series of walkouts involving thousands of workers at more than 20 sites over a similar dispute at Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire.

Downing Street petition

That dispute ended last week after a deal was struck.

A GMB union source told the BBC that 40 contractors with Motherwell Bridge steel construction were told they would face disciplinary action if they joined the latest protests.

That led their colleagues to walk out when they heard the report, the source added.

An Alstom spokesman said a "handful" of people left the site today and around 50 sub-contractors failed to turn up for work.

Earlier, around 400 people blocked the main gate at Staythorpe, the union Unite said, and about 70 gathered at Grain Power Station in Kent.

Unite and the GMB claim 850 jobs on contracts at Staythorpe will be denied to local workers, while on the Isle of Grain in Kent, 450 jobs will be similarly affected.

Speaking from the protest at Staythorpe, Unite's regional officer Steve Syson told the BBC he was looking for a "level playing field".UK workers will do most of Staythorpe construction, says the contractor

Unions want overseas workers to be paid in line with agreed UK rates.

He said: "There is clearly no intention of employing anyone... they've issued contracts out to non-UK overseas employees but we believe local labour is available.

"We want some transparency to see what they [foreign contractors] are being paid."

Power firm E.On has contracted Alstom to build a power station at Grain, where protesters claim skilled workers are being denied the chance to apply for work.

They say Polish sub-contractors Remak and ZRE are refusing to look at applications from UK labourers.

Unite's joint general secretary Derek Simpson said: "No European worker should be barred from applying for a British job and absolutely no British worker should be barred from applying for a British job."

A delegation from the union is delivering a petition to Downing Street urging Prime Minister Gordon Brown to insist employers give British workers fair access to work on UK engineering and construction projects.

It also calls for overseas workers to be paid agreed UK rates.

Alstom said all workers, whether British or European, were paid the same rates and sub-contractors were entitled to select their workers.

A spokesman said: "For the Staythorpe and Grain construction sites British workers will carry out two-thirds of the work from start to finish.

"The claim that we discriminate against British workers is simply not true."

<hr />

Are you affected by the issues in this story? Send us your comments and experiences using the form below.

<i>In most cases a selection of your comments will be published, displaying your name and location unless you state otherwise in the box below.</i>

<a name="say"></a><form method="post" action="http://www.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/cgiemail/newstalk/form_all.txt"> <input name="email_subject" type="hidden" value="Foreign labour protests 7882767"> <input name="mailto" type="hidden" value="talkingpoint@bbc.co.uk"> <input name="success" type="hidden" value="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/help/7465538.stm"> Name