Total broke no labour laws in refinery hires -Acas

LONDON, Feb 16 (Reuters) - French energy group Total (TOTF.PA: Quote, Profile, Research) did not breach the law when it hired labourers from other European Union states to work on a British building project, Britain's dispute settlement body said on Monday.

Total subcontractors Jacobs Engineering (JEC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and IREM hired Italian and Portuguese workers to build a new plant at the Lindsey oil refinery in eastern England.

The news caused a week-long strike at the refinery at the end of January by British workers who said they were being discriminated against, and led to protests at other energy sites across the country.

British conciliation service Acas, which arbitrates in labour disputes, said that while British and EU labour laws were complex and in some cases confusing, there was no indication Total or its subcontractors had broken any rules.

"Acas's inquiry has found no evidence that Total, Jacobs Engineering or IREM have broken the law in relation to the use of posted workers or entered into unlawful recruitment practices," the service said in its report about the dispute.

Acas acknowledged that some EU employment practices were less than clear and work needed to be done to ascertain how level the playing field was for workers.

"The complexity produced by the interrelation of EU law, national agreements and supplementary local collective agreements is a real source of confusion and potential dispute," Acas said in the report.

Under European Union rules governing the free movement of labour in the 27-member bloc, workers can be sent from one EU state to work in another. But the contributions employers make for those workers can vary from country to country, potentially making some countries' labour cheaper than others. (Reporting by Luke Baker; editing by Karen Foster)