Workers at Didcot Power Station have joined a wildcat strike which has broken out at other facilities across the country. Some members of staff walked out earlier today

A wildcat strike over jobs escalated when workers from several power stations and oil terminals across the UK took unofficial industrial action.

The dispute flared a week ago at the Lindsey oil refinery in Lincolnshire when a contractor laid off 51 workers while another employer on the site was hiring staff.

Around 1,200 contract workers at the terminal, which is owned by Total, have been taking unofficial action all week as efforts were made to convene talks.

Sources said today that workers at several other sites across the country joined the industrial action, hitting power stations at Drax and Eggborough in Yorkshire, Ratcliffe and West Burton in Nottinghamshire, Fiddlers Ferry in Cheshire and Aberthaw in South Wales.

Contractors at a BP refinery near Hull also joined the strike action.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said he had been in touch with the conciliation service Acas and was seeking an urgent meeting with the head of Total to try to break the deadlock.

The Lindsey refinery was hit by strikes earlier this year in a row over the recruitment of non-UK workers.

A spokesman for Drax, the largest coal-fired power station in the UK, confirmed that fewer than 200 workers had joined the unofficial strike action.

She said: "Some of our contractors have not turned up for work in support of fellow workers.

"This is unofficial action in support of their fellow workers, it is not because they have any issue with Drax or contract management at Drax.

"The action they have taken will not affect the generation of the power station. It is very much business as usual in terms of electricity generation, our output is unaffected."

Energy company E.ON said up to 150 contract workers at the Ratcliffe-on-Soar power station walked out this morning in support of the Lindsey oil refinery strike.

There were traffic delays on the A453 between Nottingham and the M1, which runs past the power station, after eight workers remained outside the plant to hand out leaflets to drivers.

The workers, who are employed by Alstom and Doosan Babcock, were carrying out maintenance work to one of the station's generators.

E.ON said homes would not be affected by the strike.

A spokesman said: "We can confirm a number of contractors for Alstom and Doosan Babcock stopped work at the Ratcliffe power station this morning.

"The walk-out is not affecting the running of the power station today."