'Neighbours' join refinery action
Dozens of sacked contractors demonstrating outside an oil refinery have been joined by workers from a neighbouring plant.
Protesters outside the Lindsey Oil Refinery in North Lincolnshire walked the half-mile to the neighbouring Humber Refinery, which is run by ConocoPhilips, where contract staff were holding a mass meeting in the car park.
There were loud cheers as the Humber Refinery workers held a vote and then walked out of the site to join the 200-300 Lindsey demonstrators.
The protest then moved back to its original site outside the gates of the giant Lindsey plant where the sacked contractors are planning to burn their dismissal letters later.
Almost 650 workers on a construction project at the site were sacked on Sunday for taking wildcat action in a dispute over jobs.
They have been given until 5pm on Monday to reapply for their jobs.
Total, which runs the Lindsey Refinery, was expected to meet union officials on Friday along with the conciliation service Acas, but the firm decided not to go ahead with the talks.
Earlier, outside the Humber Refinery, Keith Gibson, of the GMB, told the demonstrators: "This is probably the most important dispute the construction industry has seen for 30 years to defend the national agreement."
Mr Gibson thanked the workers at the ConocoPhilips site for their support. He said the strike committee would not tolerate any victimisation of workers who had joined the action.
Sacked workers who gathered outside the second refinery said they had not heard of anyone who had reapplied for their jobs.
