A DISPUTE over jobs at an oil refinery escalated yesterday when thousands of workers took wildcat strike action and sacked construction employees burned their dismissal notices in an act of defiance against oil giant Total.

Demonstrators outside the Lindsey oil refinery in North Lincolnshire set fire to letters in a car park opposite the huge plant in protest at being given until 5pm to reapply for their jobs.

Almost 650 contract staff working on a major construction project at the refinery were sacked last week by firms working for Total. A senior executive at the firm revealed the project to build a new desulpherisation plant at Lindsey was £100m over budget and late being completed because of productivity problems and the unofficial strikes.

Sources estimated up to 4,000 contract workers at power stations and oil and gas terminals across the UK took part in unofficial action yesterday.

The biggest walkout was at the Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria where 900 contract staff held a meeting and decided to stay out until Wednesday. Protests were also held at the Ensus biofuels site on Teesside.