大象传媒

The dispute centred round a major contract, awarded to a firm which brought its own workforce from Italy. Demonstrators complained that local workers had not been given a chance to apply for the jobs. It sparked similar protests at other industrial sites round the country.

The demonstration was criticised for undermining the free movement of labour within Europe. Opponents said there were many examples of British teams working in Italy. Soon the protests received international media attention.

The dispute ended when the refinery's owners offered to advertise more than 100 new jobs locally, although saying they were legally bound to consider applications from elsewhere in the EU.

Dave Houghton was one of the people who took part in the protest.

Dave told me he remembers a number of strikes since the 1960s, but says the row over foreign workers marks a new era in industrial disputes. Listen to the full interview here.

Total, the company which owns Lindsey Oil Refinery, insists it is committed to using British labour. It also says it pays overseas workers the same as their British counterparts.