Union says UK workers 'excluded'

Unite says there are many local people with the right skills

A protest has taken place at a new power station in Nottinghamshire over claims that UK workers are being kept out of jobs there.

The Unite union organised the demonstration outside Staythorpe Power Station near Newark, claiming contractors were using foreign labour.

The project could create more than 600 jobs for local people, Unite claimed.

But French builders Alstom insisted its contractors were actively looking to employ UK workers.

Union representatives said they were "hugely disappointed" after talks between the unions and company officials resulted in failure.

Unite official Steve Syson said: "All we are asking for is that UK workers get a fair crack of the whip.

"It makes no economic sense to bring in workers and it certainly makes no sense to this community when skilled workers are unemployed yet there are jobs to be had on their doorstep."

We know there are qualified people in the local area who are out of work and they are ready and willing to do the job Derek Simpson, Unite

Union spokesman David Smeeton said: "Workers who are brought in are paid £12,000 to £15,000 more for their accommodation and flights home. It is economic madness not to use as many local workers as you can."

Unite said the problem focused on two Spanish sub-contractors who had indicated they would not be employing local labour.

The union's joint general secretary, Derek Simpson, said before Thursday's protest: "The country is in the grip of a credit crunch and the construction industry is one of the worst-hit sectors.

"We know there are qualified people in the local area who are out of work and they are ready and willing to do the job."

He added that Alstom and energy giant RWE, which will run the power station, should put pressure on sub-contractors to give UK workers a fair chance of employment on the project.

French builders Alstom insisted contractors were actively looking to employ UK workers

"The UK needs to upgrade and build new power stations and there are huge opportunities to create thousands of well paid and highly skilled jobs.

"It will be a disgrace if UK workers are shut out from building their own power stations," Mr Simpson said.

Alstom said a small number of its 14 sub-contractors were not from the UK and they employed a small number of UK and non-UK workers.

A spokesman said: "Their role is to secure the right balance of skills and expertise to deliver the work from both the UK and abroad.

"Their non-UK workers are sourced from within the EU."

He added the firm maintained a regular dialogue with all its sub-contractors to ensure all workers had an equal opportunity to gain employment on its sites.