UK energy workers down tools over foreign workers

23/06/09 07:41 CET

world news

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Thousands of energy workers across England and Wales have staged a walk-out in support of their colleagues sacked from Total’s Lindsey oil refinery.

Some of the 647 Lindsey workers defiantly burned their dismissal letters in protest. They first downed tools on June 11, in protest at one sub-contractor axing jobs while another was hiring. The strikers claim this is a way of using foreign labour to undercut UK workers. They say an agreement was reached after a bitter dispute in February over the same issue, but Total has denied this. Speakers at a mass rally outside the North Lincolnshire refinery said the demonstrators were standing firm. A further protest is planned for later today.More about: Strike, United Kingdom

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Mali: Rebel groups agree to creation of Islamic state

Two Rebel groups have agreed to merge and create an independent Islamic state in Northern Mali. After seizing Azawad – an area larger than France – two months ago, the groups had initially disagreed, with the secular Movement for the Liberation of Azawad (MNLA)…