Wildcat strikes spread across Britain today as another 500 contractors walked out in a show of sympathy for workers sacked at the Total oil refinery in Lincolnshire.

An estimated 2,000 workers from refineries, gas plants and nuclear sites failed to turn up for work today in unofficial industrial action after the French oil giant dismissed 650 contractors last week.

The contractors were dismissed after going on strike to protest at not being offered new work on the site in Lindsey, Lincolnshire, even though employment was available.

Under a union deal, the National Agreement, contract workers should be given the opportunity to apply for any new work at the same site once their oroginal employment term.

The 650 workers discovered through television reports that Total had sacked them on Friday. They have until 5pm today to reapply for their jobs.

As yet, there has been no disruption to Britain’s energy supply because all of those on strike are construction contractors or support staff — none of them responsible for the operation of a power plant. However, there are fears that other workers may strike in sympathy with the Lindsey contractors.

At the neighbouring ConocoPhillips Humber refinery, about 300 contract maintenance workers walked out, while 100 employees at E.on’s Ratcliffe plant in Nottinghamshire also to unofficial industrial action in support of the Lindsey workers.

Scottish & Southern Energy said that workers from the Fiddlers Ferry power station, near Warrington, had down tools but said it did not to know how many. It is believed that contractors at Drax, Britain’s biggest power station also walked out. Drax failed to return calls.

EDF Energy said in a statement that some contractors had taken industrial action at its Cottam and West Burton power stations in Nottinghamshire. About 360 contract workers at RWE npower’s Aberthaw and Didcot A power stations have also gone on unofficial strike. More than 200 contractors walked off site at South Hook LNG terminal in Wales.

While Total convened a meeting on Friday — inviting representatives of Unite and the GMB unions, contractors, and ACAS, the industrial arbiter — the oil company cancelled at the last minute.

Today, the sacked workers at Total formed a picket line around the Lindsey refinery plant and some burnt letters from the company confirming the end of their employment.

All the Lindsey workers were employed in building a new unit next to the refinery called the HDS-3 [hydro-desulphurisation] project. The unit, which will now not be completed by the end of the year as originally planned, will help the refinery to extract more diesel from the crude oil it treats.

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