The wave of wildcat strikes was one of the largest waves of working class militancy in decades with walkouts across the country. Among the sites affected were Sellafield nuclear site in Cumbria, the Heysham nuclear power station in Lancashire, Fiddlers Ferry power station in Cheshire, Staythorpe in Nottinghamshire and South Hook LNG gas terminal in Milford.

The dispute flared up on January 28 after it emerged that an Italian company contracted to work on the project would ship in its own employees rather than using local labour. Walkouts by workers at the refinery spawned a wave of solidarity strikes across the country.

Strikers argued that they were actively discriminated against by subcontractors who refused to allow them to apply for work. The deal will not see any Italian workers losing their jobs. Strike committee member Tony Ryan said: "It's been a hard week for the lads, this week they've stood out in all weathers. It's been a hard-fought fight, and I'm glad the lads are back at work, earning money again, and the Italian lads are still here."

All of these actions took place outside the trade union bureaucracy (although Unite has been an influential player in the dispute) and were completely illegal under the anti-trade union legislation. This does not appear to have deterred strikers and so far there has been little indication that anybody will face legal consequences for the walkouts.

While workers have been victorious at Lindsey, similar arrangements are in place at other sites. In Staythorpe near Newark in Nottinghamshire, subcontractors at the site of a new power station have refused to employ UK labour. Unemployed workers have been protesting there since November and it was one of the facilities which saw solidarity walkouts. The dispute there continues and on Saturday 7th January, a protest was held outside the offices of Alstom who are running the project.