Employer Total and unions thrash out deal to reinstate 900 workers
26 June 2009
Sacked construction workers at the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire will be reinstated as part of a deal reached between unions and bosses last night.
Talks between energy firm Total and the union Unite concluded with an apparent victory for the workers, who had walked out on unofficial action last week after 51 staff were made redundant. The dispute escalated when 900 strikers were sacked and told they could reapply for their jobs only if they dropped their grievances.
The terms of the deal are still to be disclosed but Unite is seeking to approve the agreement with the workforce today. It is understood that the original 51 workers at the centre of the dispute will be among those offered jobs.
Les Bayliss, Unite's assistant general secretary, said: “We're pleased that we were able to thrash out a deal which the union can put to the workforce at Lindsey. Following hours of detailed negotiations, there has been a significant breakthrough. The proposals for a return to work will be recommended to the workforce by the union's shop stewards at Lindsey on Monday morning. The employers have agreed to reinstate all the sacked workers. We welcome the part the employers played in agreeing these proposals.”
Unite's negotiator would not accept anything less than full reinstatement of the workers, he said. The deal could prove controversial in some quarters since the action was an unofficial one in contravention of legislation, but Bayliss added: “It's time that the government repealed the anti-trade union legislation. UK workers are victims of the most restrictive trade union laws in Europe."
The GMB union has also been involved in negotiations at the plant. Total’s decision is thought to have been swayed by the burgeoning expense of the construction project, with reports suggesting that the dispute and associated delays had added up to £85 million to the cost.