Plus, if they carry on like this those workers will find themselves out of a job eventually as companies go abroad. It might not be possible in the case of an oil refinery, but you can bet that if there are redundancies that certain names will find their way to the top of the list.

As I understand it the argument is not so simplistic. The contract has excluded British workers from applying for the work, thus they are excluded from competing in the first place. This may be illegal but it's yet to be tested in court.

It was my understanding that the subcontractors were discriminating on the grounds of nationality against British workers in recruitment. However it seems that it was a case of an Italian crew being available quickly and cheaply. In which case I broadly agree with you.

There is the possibility that freedom of movement and labour is being used to undermine local collective bargaining agreements in order to lower working conditions under the guise of economy. My attitude to this is that just as employers and employment law has become international so should collective bargaining agreements to prevent exploitation of a workforce under increasing economic pressure.