WORKERS at two Merseyside businesses joined 4,000 workers nationally in unofficial strike action.

It is thought around 600 employees at Shell’s Stanlow refinery, in Ellesmere Port, and Fiddlers Ferry power station, in Widnes, joined in wildcat strikes in support of sacked staff of French Oil Giant Total yesterday.

A dispute over jobs at Lindsey oil refinery, in North Yorkshire, escalated yesterday when sacked construction employees burned their dismissal notices in an act of defiance against Total.

Demonstrators outside the oil refinery set light to letters in a car park opposite the huge plant in protest at being given until 5pm yesterday to reapply for their jobs.

Almost 650 contract staff working on a major construction project at the refinery were sacked last week by firms working for Total, which runs the refinery, after a week of unofficial industrial action.

A senior executive at Total last night revealed the project to build a new desulphurisation plant at Lindsey was £100m over budget and late being completed because of productivity problems and the unofficial strikes.

Michel Benezit, President of refining and marketing, said the dispute was out of Total’s hands because it involved sub- contractors. "The work should have been finished by now and the unit should be in operation. Because of poor productivity and disputes, we still have a long way to go.

"I want to make it clear that we have not fired anyone because we have no employees involved in this work. There is not much we can do. My only goal is to see an end to the strike as soon as possible. We have already suffered huge cost over-runs."