Union for drivers of Shell fuels in talks
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.
Such a move would be illegal and in the event of unlawful action or pickets individual police chiefs are under instructions to keep oil tankers moving in and out of oil terminals and distribution depots.
Unite representatives for drivers employed on other contracts have convened a meeting on Wednesday to discuss the latest situation.
The agenda will largely depend on the outcome of Tuesday’s resumed negotiations. But the union is concerned that some drivers who had refused to cross picket lines of Shell drivers had been threatened with intimidation.
There was no evidence that any company had started disciplinary proceedings against their drivers.
Oil industry bosses have already admitted that if a new stoppage is likely this week the 72-hour window to distribute fuel stocks nationwide would prove challenging.
Drivers, employed by Hoyer and Suckling, while returning to work have imposed a ban on overtime shifts.
The UK Petrol Industry Association is appealing to motorists to continue to buy sensibly.
The strike brought more chaos than had been expected. Petrol rationing had to be introduced in some parts of the country to deal with shortages. Across the south-west various independent retailers limited sales to 15 litres or introduced an upper limit of £10, £15, £20 or £25 depending on stock levels at each forecourt.
Such a move was ordered on a case-by-case basis at each forecourt though leading brands are expected to adopt a similar policy if they need to eke out supplies.
Fuel shortages mainly affected Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and the city of Bristol and Avon. There were further problems in Cardiff, Bridgend, Barry, the Vale of Glamorgan and Swansea where many people commute to work by car.
Hauliers, angry about the high level of duty on fuel, added to the chaos by staging protests outside refineries at Milford Haven and Pembroke Dock and urging drivers not to cross picket lines.
There were also sporadic problems in Worcestershire and Herefordshire, the north-west, north-east and west Midlands.
Some petrol stations were accused of profiteering from the fuel shortages. At the BWOC Foxhayes garage at Exwick, near Exeter, all petrol and diesel was priced at £1.99 a litre. This worked out more than £9 if calculated in gallons and is double the average £1.18 a litre across the country and more than the £1.30 average price per litre in the south west region.
Ron James, manager, said he had increased the prices to prevent panic buying and quell demand until his stocks were replenished.
Motorists choosing to pay the higher rates were offered a voucher pledging a £24 discount off an MOT at the garage.
Fuel increases of 14p were also reported in the north-west where small independent chains of forecourts have traditionally reacted to fuel shortages with price rises.
A total of 616 forecourts ran dry on Monday of which 281 were owned by Shell. Shell has a total of 880 outlets and represents one in ten of all petrol stations in Britain. Many more Shell stations were expected to run dry overnight because they are receiving no deliveries.
The situation was better than Sunday when 647 pumps ran dry. A spokesman for the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform said the figures showed that most tankers were on the road and able to make deliveries.
She said: “It is possible there may be further stock outs but it is clear that motorists have shown common sense and have not exacerbated the situation which has helped.”
Ministers are still hopeful that a deal can be reached to call off the threatened second round of strike action and are reluctant to activate emergency powers to ration fuel and give priority to essential users.
Ray Holloway, director of the Petrol Retailers’ Association, said: “The Government is rightly taking the view that a four-day tanker strike involving one brand should not be sufficient reason for the UK to call a state of emergency. It would send out all the wrong signals.”
Source: TimesOnline
Tags: crisis, Eu, fuel costs, shell, strike