TRADE unionists staged a major demonstration outside a waste recycling plant to raise concerns about jobs at a new power plant.

An estimated 200 people from the Unite, GMB and UCATT unions protested outside the Sita plant on Haverton Hill Road, Haverton Hill, near Billingham yesterday (Friday).

They followed previous protests at the Wilton International Site near Redcar over the rate of pay given to foreign workers to build the new £250m Sita facility.

Steve Cason, of Unite, alleged that companies who might be within the letter of the law where finding ways to effectively pay the foreign workers less and therefore undercut British workers.

He stressed he was not against foreigner workers and, as well as protecting pay rates for local labour, he was also concerned the foreign workers were being exploited.

He said: "We've heard that a number of employees have been told they have to pay £600 per person per month to stay in the company's own prescribed accommodation when they could get accommodation much cheaper. It's using the accommodation to undercut the rate."

A spokesman for Sita said that the company are paying the correct, nationally agreed rates to its employees.

He said: “The allegations are just not true, and it is disappointing that after we have confirmed this time and again, these protests continue.

"We have stated on a number of occasions that more than two thirds of our workforce are from the UK and all of them have rates of pay equal to or higher than the nationally agreed rate of pay."

The spokesman said the specific claim about the prescribed accommodation for foreign workers would be investigated.

About 15 police vans were at the protest.