FuelClub Discount

The business secretary has issued a warning about inflationary pay rises after tanker drivers working for Shell settled a pay dispute with employers.

The deal came after a four-day strike by the drivers. They had originally wanted a 13% pay rise, and turned down 7%. Their final deal is not yet known.

John Hutton said the deal reflected the particular conditions in the industry.

He said: “There needs to be discipline in public and private sector pay if we are to keep inflation under control.”
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Talks to avoid another strike by Shell tanker drivers agree a pay deal for 641 drivers contracted to distribute fuel for Shell are to continue on Tuesday.

The drivers, employed by Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, are to return to work from 6am today after a four-day strike - but without a pay agreement, the drivers’ union, Unite, has given warning of another four-day-stoppage from Friday.

A spokesman for Unite said: “We are still talking and I can say that we are not many miles apart.”

There are renewed fears that if the pay dispute drags on, other drivers contracted to work for other oil companies may also join in industrial action.
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Last month the Wall Street Journal accused me of advocating subsidies for food-based ethanol. I ought to “take a vow of embarrassed silence,” it said, for claiming that ethanol’s contribution to the food crisis is “overblown.” The Journal’s claims would be laughable if the stakes were not so high.

Cellulosic biofuels offer a chance to have an environmentally meaningful impact on petroleum use while benefiting farmers, entrepreneurs and consumers. I have many investments in biofuels companies. Some say I believe in biofuels because I have invested in them. The truth is that I invest in biofuels because I believe they can help our environment, economy and national security.

Just as the word “drug” can refer to aspirin or cocaine, “biofuel” refers to a variety of products that vary dramatically in their environmental impact and effects on food prices. For instance, biodiesel from food oils such as soybean or palm oil has traditionally created environmental negatives. But corn ethanol has been a stepping stone to cellulosic ethanol, a preferred alternative that is likely to achieve unsubsidized market competitiveness with oil within a few years.
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General Motors Corp said on Wednesday it was partnering with Clean Energy Fuels Corp on a new hydrogen refueling station in Los Angeles that the companies hope will be the first of many.

GM is one of a handful of car companies developing fuel cell-powered vehicles, which run on hydrogen and emit only water vapor. Fuel cell vehicles are being touted as a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce the United States’ dependency on pricey crude oil.

In a statement, the two companies said they are discussing opportunities to expand the first station, which will be located near Los Angeles International Airport, into a network of hydrogen stations used to refuel fuel cell vehicles.
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Royal Dutch Shell Plc expects “significant impact” on the supply of gasoline to its service stations as tanker drivers, who deliver to 10 percent of the U.K.’s filling stations, are set today to begin a four-day strike over pay.

The Unite union, representing 641 drivers, failed to reach agreement with Shell subcontractors Hoyer GmbH Internationale and Suckling Transport Ltd., union spokeswoman Pauline Doyle said in a telephone interview yesterday.

Shell, which is not involved in the pay negotiations, said supplies to its filling stations would suffer and that it has teams working to ensure that as much fuel as possible gets through to customers.
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American Airlines on Wednesday raised its fuel surcharge by $20 per round trip, after a failed attempt to raise fares, according to reports.

Spokesman Tim Wagner said the surcharge would apply on domestic routes except those where the carrier competes with low-fare airlines.

American, a subsidiary of Fort Worth, Texas-based AMR Corp. (NYSE: AMR), and several other airlines attempted to raise fares by $20 over the weekend, but failed as some carriers didn’t match the increases.
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