2nd UPDATE: 900 Workers Sacked At Total Lindsey Refinery

Total SA (TOT) said Friday around 900 contract workers at its U.K. Lindsey oil refinery are to have their contracts terminated after staging unofficial strike action this week which prompted a rash of protests at other energy plants across the country.

"Total can confirm, with regret, that our contractors have now started the process of ending the current employment contracts for their workforce on the HDS-3 [hydro-desulfurization] construction project," the company said in a statement.

At the U.K. prime minister's daily briefing, a Downing Street spokesman criticised the unofficial action and urged workers to reapply for their jobs and start talks with bosses.

"The Government's view is that unofficial strike action and demonstrations are never the right response to industrial relations problems," he said.

The spokesman said while the dispute was principally a matter between the companies and the workers, it was hoped the issue would be resolved as quickly as possible.

"The letters of dismissal were sent yesterday...and the workers have the option to reapply for their jobs," the spokesman said. "The Government hopes that they will do so and start talks with their employers."

Louise Owen, spokeswoman for labor conciliatory service ACAS, confirmed joint talks will be held today between Total, GMB union and Unite union.

"GMB condemns the action of Total," said the general-secretary of the GMB union Paul Kenny. "Total have for a full week refused to meet the union to resolve the problems through Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service."

He warned that discontent over the way the company had handled the negotiations could see the unofficial strikes and protests spread further. "It seems pretty obvious that there is a mass case of victimization taking place here."

A spokeswoman at Total said the main contract company Jacobs Engineering Group Inc. (JEC) had informed workers of the decision Thursday. Workers will be able to reapply for their jobs until 1600 GMT on June 22.

The 200,000 barrel a day refinery meanwhile continues to operate as normal, Total said.

Dow Jones Newswires contacted Jacobs' office in Scotland but was referred to the company's headquarters in California, no one was immediately available there to comment.

This is the third episode of rapid industrial action to hit the U.K.'s energy industry in five months, but the strikes have so far failed to affect output from plants, according to the companies that manage the installations. The speed of the action has been attributed to the increased use of mobile technology and social-networking sites to mobilize workers.

-By Angela Henshall, Dow Jones Newswires; (4420) 7842 9285; [e-mail] (Nick Heath in London contributed to this story.)