The call by one of the UK's largest unions, Unite, is contained in a letter to the Secretary of State for BERR, John Hutton.

The union is calling on the government to require all bidders for the new build nuclear reactor sites to match a commitment already made by one of the potential bidders, Atomic Energy of Canada (AEC), to source 70-80% of the new build contracts from companies based in the UK. Unite has also asked that, because of its commitment to UK industry, the government allows the AEC to proceed to the next phase of the pre-licensing process.

Unite is also calling on the government to commit to the first new nuclear reactor being up and running by 2017, just ten years from now. The tendering process has yet to begin.

Unite National Officer for Energy, Dougie Rooney, said: "Nuclear new build represents one of the most significant opportunities for British jobs and skills over the next decade and we want to make sure that the maximum benefit is received by the UK manufacturing and skills base.

"One of the prospective bidders has, voluntarily, agreed to give a minimum of 70% of the work involved to UK based companies and we are calling on the government to ensure that other bidders do the same.