Strike hits Ensus

Jun 22 2009 by Kelley Price, Evening Gazette

HUNDREDS of workers at Wilton’s Ensus plant site entered their second day of wildcat strike action today.

Around 1,000 construction workers - the entire Ensus site - staged a dramatic walkout on Friday, in support of an unrelated dispute at the Lindsey Oil Refinery in Lincolnshire.

Workers who met on site at Ensus this morning walked out again, going against union stewards’ recommendations to return to work, after it emerged that Lindsey Oil Refinery owners Total did not enter talks to resolve the dispute on Friday.

One worker on Teesside, who did not want to be named, said: “We supported the lads on Friday, we continue to support them today and for however long it takes. A lot of us have friends there, everyone’s connected in this industry so we cover each other’s backs because it could be us. We will show strength in numbers.”

Unofficial protests broke out at power stations and terminals across the country last week after around 650 staff at the Lindsey plant were sent dismissal letters telling them they must reapply for their jobs by 5pm today.

The Teesside worker said staff were protesting over ‘blue book’ construction site guidelines governing pay and conditions of work. Workers on the Ensus plant will forfeit pay until the protest is ended.

The 400 million litre Ensus bioethanol plant is due for completion later this year but the strike action will cause significant disruption to the build programme.

Ensus chief executive Alwyn Hughes said: “Our main priority is for staff to go back to work as soon as possible. Every day of strike action is a day lost, we can’t recover it. We are not associated with the Lindsey Oil Refinery workers, there is no issue or dispute at Wilton - we are bringing investment and jobs to the area and we want the plant to become a reality as soon as possible.”

Construction firm Simon Carves, the company running the build programme for the plant, refused to comment on the protest.

This is the second bout of strike action the Ensus plant has faced in a few weeks. Last month, the entire site walked out following a dispute at a liquefied natural gas terminal in Milford Haven, west Wales, over the hiring of local labour.

Furious Lindsey workers who met outside the refinery at 6.30am this morning to burn their letters were joined by protesters from the neighbouring Humber Refinery.

French giant Total, which runs the Lincolnshire refinery, was due to meet union officials on Friday along with the conciliation service Acas, but the firm decided not to go ahead.

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.”