A DEAL to resolve a row over contract labour, which led to a series of wildcat strikes across the country, was accepted yesterday by workers at the centre of the dispute.

A mass meeting at the liquefied natural gas terminal in Milford Haven, west Wales, voted to back the deal and return to work.

Paul Kenny, general secretary of the GMB union, said: “After lengthy negotiations between the company and GMB, a framework has been reached which will fully restore the written agreement on the site regarding the use of local labour.”

Workers at the site had complained that an agreement by contracting firm Hertel to offer jobs to local workers at the South Hook site in Milford Haven, was broken when a number of Polish employees were hired.

They walked out on unofficial strike on Monday and were joined by thousands of workers at several other sites, including the Wilton International complex on Teesside.

Yesterday, more than 1,000 workers who have been helping to construct a new £250m Ensus bioethanol plant at Wilton left the site following a meeting in the morning.

The workers did not return.

It is understood another meeting will be held this morning, after which it is thought they will return to work.