WORKERS have staged a protest at the Stratford Olympic site.

Members of GMB, Rail, Maritime and Transport (RMT) and Unite unions called for more British workers to be employed on the site and to be employed directly, not through job agencies.

Olympics chiefs have stated up to 70 per cent of workers are either British or Irish.

About 400 protesters from sites across Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire were set to attend the demonstration, including staff from the Lindsey oil refinery.

The refinery, in North Lincolnshire, saw protests earlier this year over employing foreign workers.

Workers also went on to lobby MPs in Parliament about the Posted Workers Directive and "the blacklisting that is operating in [the] industry".

The EU Posted Workers Directive allows European companies to employ their own staff on temporary projects in another EU member state provided it is for a limited time and they abide by local working conditions.

Phil Willis, of Unite, said if too many non-British workers were brought to the Olympic site, it could mean local apprentices were no longer needed.

But the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said it was advertising jobs first in local job centres.

An ODA spokesman said: "We are providing jobs and training at a difficult time for the economy, exceeding our targets on the employment of local people.

"We work closely with the UK Borders Agency to ensure all those working on site are legally entitled to do so.

"There are high levels of direct employment on the Olympic Park and we have a positive agreement with the unions representing construction workers on site which includes national wage rates."

The spokesman added that those at the demonstration do not work on the Olympic site.