British workers will vote tomorrow on whether to end a wildcat strike over the use of foreign labour at a French-owned oil refinery in eastern England, unions said today.
The dispute has sparked sympathy strikes across Britain and echoes growing industrial unrest across Europe as workers fear for their jobs in the global economic downturn.
Two unions have held talks with refinery owner Total and hammered out a deal that is expected to involve British workers getting access to around 100 jobs at the plant.
"Our understanding is that our stewards and officials will be recommending that to the workforce," said Derek Simpson, joint general secretary of Britain's biggest union Unite.
"If that is accepted there would be an immediate return to work which would also call a halt to the supportive actions."
The dispute was sparked by the use of Italian and Portuguese contractors over British workers at the Lindsey refinery and has embarrassed British prime minister Gordon Brown who pledged "British jobs for British workers" shortly after coming to office in 2007.
Union bosses are hoping that a commitment to give more British workers jobs at the refinery, without laying off Italian and Portuguese staff, will be sufficient to put an end to a week of unrest at energy plants countrywide.
The Lindsey dispute started a week ago when British contract workers in the welding and machine-engineering trades launched protests against the employment of around 200 Italians and Portuguese on a new construction plant.
Total says the foreign sub-contractors were hired according to European Union and British labour law but unions say British workers were not given the chance to apply for the jobs.
Italian labour leaders and politicians have assailed Britain over the dispute, saying it is being protectionist.
That criticism has stung Mr Brown who has warned other countries against the dangers of protectionism as a response to worsening global economic conditions.
Even if the dispute ends tomorrow, the issue of foreign labour is unlikely to fade as unemployment rises across Europe.
There is the threat of reprisals by other European countries against British contract workers employed there. In 2006, nearly 50,000 British workers were employed abroad in the European Union, according to government figures.
The government is also under pressure to rework labour laws allowing foreign staff to be brought in and paid the British minimum wage, undercutting indigenous skilled workers.
Reuters