Britons laid off to give jobs to foreigners

They claim that skilled local men are being laid off and replaced with cheap labour from abroad.

The giant accommodation barge, moored in Grimsby docks, will house hundreds of Italian migrants.

A second barge is expected at the Humberside port next week.

British workers at the nearby Lindsey Oil Refinery - Britain's third largest - say the migrants will be taking their jobs.

The revelation follows the outrage over foreign construction teams allegedly being favoured at a new power station at Staythorpe, near Newark, Nottinghamshire.

Staythorpe has been dubbed a "national scandal" by union leaders who claim that Poles, Spaniards and Portuguese are stealing the jobs of skilled British workers.

In the latest oil refinery dispute, union officials are investigating reports that 90-day notices have been served on British workers so they can be replaced.

The plant is run by French oil giant Total, which is allowed under EU law to undercut British wages by hiring employees from other member states.

Union chiefs say the scandal makes a mockery of Gordon Brown's "British jobs for British workers" promise.

Total says it brought in the Italians because there is a shortage of skilled labourers in the region.

But British workers say they are more than qualified for the job of upgrading the refinery to improve its diesel production.

Welder Eddie McGeown, 51, said: "I have worked in the engineering construction industry, on power stations, at refineries and gas plants, and although the country is suffering from a recession, there is no shortage of work in my industry.

"But I and many other skilled British tradesmen are now unemployed.

"Foreign companies are being awarded British contracts in the power and petro-chemical industries, then employing foreign labour, while British labour is on the dole. It's an absolute scandal.

"Total's Lindsey Oil Refinery has one company on 90 days notice, mainly UK labour, while awarding an Italian company another contract which they have manned up with foreign labour.

"The situation will get worse if action is not taken now by the Government to protect its citizens."

Another welder, Steve Dixon, said: "It's yet another job going down the road to foreign workers.

"I hope we can get through to Gordon Brown that this is just adding to the country's misery. We should be looking at our homegrown workforce to fill these jobs, and when all avenues are exhausted then, and only then, should we be using foreign labour."

Construction worker Lindsay Scott said: "I have done my job for 31 years and here we have an accommodation barge at Grimsby docks for 250 Italian workers doing my job and a lot of others in the UK.

They say there's a skills shortage but there are welders and pipefitters all on the dole here - it's like a bad dream."

Near the floating hotel a docker said: "It's terrible bringing foreigners over here to work, there's not enough work for people here as it is.

"They don't have any more skills than workers here."

Meanwhile, guest house owners in the area are furious at missing out because of the barge.

Lincolnshire hotelier Bob Callison said: "I understand that the Italian management involved have been planning this for more than a year.

"It is going to affect much of the local economy which depends on the Humber Bank industry."

A spokesman for Total confirmed work was going to Italians after they won a contract during tendering.