Workers continue wildcat strike

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About 300 contractors at the Longannet power station in Fife have voted by four to one to continue their unofficial strike until Friday.

About 150 workers walked out on Monday in support of sacked staff at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire.

The Longannet contractors had been urged to return to work by unions, but voted to continue their sympathy stoppage on Wednesday and Thursday.

About 200 other workers in Scotland have also joined the unofficial action.

They are based at Cockenzie power station and the Mossmorran plant.

They are expected to decide later whether to return to work.

Employment laws

Scottish Power - which operates the Longannet and Cockenzie sites - has said the striking workers are not directly employed by them, and are not essential to power production, allowing the plants to continue as normal.

The wildcat action was called in support of 647 workers who were sacked from the Lindsey refinery, which is owned by the oil company Total.

Total has dropped its opposition to talks with the Lindsey workforce after previously insisting negotiations could only take place if staff returned to work.

Thousands of workers across England and Wales have also walked out in support of the sacked Lindsey refinery staff, who have been told by Total to reapply for their jobs.

The dismissals came after about 1,200 workers staged unofficial walkouts at the plant over a jobs dispute.

The workers had accused bosses of breaking an agreement not to cut jobs while there were vacancies elsewhere on the site. Total insisted no such agreement was in place.

The GMB union is to hold a national strike ballot about employment laws. It has said the ballot was planned several weeks ago and was not just a response to the protest at the Lindsey refinery.