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UK strike escalating as 1500 Scots join protest
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by mudricky | January 30, 2009 at 07:40 am
373 views | 23 Recommendations | 8 comments
In response to this story created by Dave Keating -UK oil refinery protests spreading - hundreds walk out
Around 1500 Scottish workers have now began to take part in protest to what has happened in England.
The dispute began after bosses at the Lindsey oil refinery in England brought contractors from Italy and Portugal to work at the plant.
Unions have said the jobs should have gone to British workers.
Seven Scottish sites are now effected.
- 700 - BP and INEOS workers in Grangemouth oil refinery
- 500 - Scottish Power's Longannet power station
- 100 - Cockenzie power station
- 80 - British Energy's Torness power station
- 50 - Shell St Fergus gas processing plant in Aberdeenshire
- 100 - ExxonMobil's petrochemicals plant in Mossmoran in Fife
- Unconfirmed - Shell plant in Mossmoran
Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond said: "Obviously workers are angry about what's been happening in a plant in England."
"I'm hoping that as soon as they have protested they will get back to work."
Photos
"At times like these, it is really important that nobody does anything that jeopardises any jobs whatsoever."
MORE than 1500 workers in Scotland were on strike today over the use of foreign workers on a multimillion-pound construction project.
Mechanical contractors at seven sites, including Grangemouth oil refinery and three power stations, have taken part in the unofficial action, union officials said.
They acted in support of workers in England who walked out on Wednesday over the decision to bring in hundreds of Italian and Portuguese contractors to work on a new £200 million plant at the giant Lindsey oil refinery in North Killingholme, North Lincolnshire.
Seven hundred BP and INEOS workers in Grangemouth oil refinery took the action after a union meeting held at 8am today.
Bobby Buirds, a regional officer for Unite in Scotland, said: "The argument is not against foreign workers, it's against foreign companies discriminating against British labour.
"If the job of these mechanical contractors at INEOS finishes and they try to get jobs down south, the jobs are already occupied by foreign labour and their opportunities are decreasing.
"This is a fight for work. It is a fight for the right to work in our own country.
"It is not a racist argument at all."
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (8)
at 08:08 on January 30th, 2009
France is striking, Iceland, Greece, Italy and now the UK is taking it up as well and raising the stakes a notch.
at 09:45 on January 30th, 2009
Grangemouth oil refinery, Photo taken by Brian Mclellan (www.flickr.com/bam101)
bam101 has contributed a photo to this story.
at 10:00 on January 30th, 2009
With the world enconomy hanging in tatters and here in the UK with so many jobs being lost we have to look after our own workforce before we can look after any migrant workforce. hopefully this will change and we can welcome our European friends back.
at 10:20 on January 30th, 2009
Well it is a time to stand together, and in this economic climate, it's important to fight for your job today unfortunately.
at 12:51 on January 30th, 2009
I think you should give up your job and hand it over to somebody from another country as an act of international solidarity. I volunteer prime minister Gordon Brown to be the first to do this. I would like to replace him with Angela Merkel, a far more competent leader.
at 03:07 on January 31st, 2009
In USA, non-Americans have to work on visas and be sponsored, consequently when there is an economic depression the immigrant workers have there visas rescinded and the jobs go to American people.
This is a correct way of protecting the stability and economy of your home country.
In the UK, anybody can cross the borders, get work, social security, retraining, government sponsorship, housing and clothing benefits except, it seems, the British. We just have to pay for it all.
And they wonder why so many of us leave for a better quality of life abroad.
Ashamed and disappointed by our governing body.
Paul Richardson
In the Canaries.
at 15:39 on February 1st, 2009
I would like to reply to Paul Richardson's comment, as he seems to be quite confused on what European Union is.
Members of European Union can travel, have permanent residence, be employed or set up business freely in any country of the Union, that's why Mr Richardson can live in the Canaries and enjoy better quality of life, health services, etc.
The UK agreed to this when it joined the Common Market, as the European Union was then known, in 1973.
The Italian company won the subcontract tender and has all the rights to operate in UK with its own specialised staff. In the same way UK companies can and do operate in the rest of EU.
UK cannot change the rules as they fancy, just when they are not to their own advantage. Italians and Portuguese workers have the same rights as British workers and UK should be ashamed of this raise of demagogic nationalism. Where were trade unions and workers when governments were signing the EU agreements? What about all the EU money UK receives?
When Mr Richardson says anybody can cross UK border and get benefits, he is talking about extra European immigrants, who come as refugees, often from ex British colonies. That's a completely different matter.
Refugees can apply for British citizenship after a period of time they lived in UK and their children born in UK have automatic citizenship. Probably a good number of them are now on the picket lines shouting 'British jobs for British workers'.
at 11:47 on February 6th, 2009
I am aghast at what is happening. British workers are employeed world wide, should they all be brought back and citizens put in their stead!