UK workers walk out over foreign labor
Güncelleme Tarihi:
AFP
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Şubat 03, 2009 00:00
LONDON - Workers at the Sellafield nuclear plant joined a series of wildcat strikes yesterday at energy facilities in protest at the use of foreign contractors instead of unemployed Britons.
Some 600 contractors at Sellafield, northwest England, joined a wave of union-led strikes against the use of around 100 Italian and Portuguese workers on a building project at the Lindsey oil refinery in eastern England.
The action, which flared at a handful of sites last week, was condemned Sunday by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, despite a previous pledge by him to provide "British jobs for British workers" in 2007.
European Union law enshrines the right to freedom of movement of workers among member states, of which Britain is one.
The strikes have opened up splits in Brown's government -- the subject is particularly sensitive because his ruling Labour Party's main source of funding is trade unions.
Sellafield's management has insisted that industrial action "would have no impact on safety, security or production."
As well as Sellafield workers, around 300 protestors gathered at Lindsey, which is run by French oil giant Total. The turnout was lower than in recent days after overnight snow.
The action, which flared at a handful of sites last week, was condemned Sunday by Prime Minister Gordon Brown, despite a previous pledge by him to provide "British jobs for British workers" in 2007.
European Union law enshrines the right to freedom of movement of workers among member states, of which Britain is one.
The strikes have opened up splits in Brown's government -- the subject is particularly sensitive because his ruling Labour Party's main source of funding is trade unions.
Sellafield's management has insisted that industrial action "would have no impact on safety, security or production."
As well as Sellafield workers, around 300 protestors gathered at Lindsey, which is run by French oil giant Total. The turnout was lower than in recent days after overnight snow.