Three workers sacked from the Brighton Centre for refusing to sign new contracts are to be supported by hundreds of their colleagues during the Labour Party conference.

The men claim they were sacked by Brighton and Hove Council for refusing to accept new contracts which would have meant less pay and longer hours.

Their case has been taken up by the General Municipal and Boilermakers union, the largest in Brighton with 3,500 members.

Members are planning to stage demonstrations and lobby MPs and Cabinet ministers at the conference in September.

The three, Stephen Lawrence, David Sprague and Leigh Davey, had all worked at the centre for more than ten years.

All three would have been involved in setting up the Labour Party Conference.

They were sacked by Brighton and Council last month for refusing to sign new contracts, which they said amounted to less pay, longer hours, and demands they were on call for 24 hours a day.

Papers are being prepared for industrial tribunal hearings where they plan to claim for unfair dismissal.

GMB organiser Gary Smith said: "These dismissals were in our view unfair. Nobody should be under any illusions about how angry our members are at the treatment of their colleagues.

"There is a growing disillusionment with the way Brighton and Hove Council treats people. We have a reputation for vigorously defending our members' rights. If our members opt for a demonstration it is likely to be large.

"The Brighton Centre has got financial problems. New staff are being taken on with lower wages and demands people are available for work 24 hours a day.

"When these three refused to sign the new contracts, which would have been to their severe detriment, they were sacked.

"We aim to show the Labour Party, which is supposed to support trade unionists, that one of its councils which runs the building where the conference is taking place, is treating its own staff in a way which is detrimental to Labour Party principles."

Stephen Lawrence, who earned around £13,000 a year, said: "We all refused to sign new contracts which would have meant a drop in wages, less overtime and the right to bring us in to work at any time of the night and day.

"When we all refused we were all sacked and given a week's salary for every year we had worked at the centre. We have been unemployed since."