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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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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Q: What is the dispute about?

A: Unite, the union representing 641 drivers, is claiming a 13 per cent rise. It says their pay - £32,000 a year - has not gone up since 1992 even though hours are longer. This is disputed by the employers who say drivers’ average earnings are £36,000.

Q: Who is involved in the dispute?

A: Unite is officially in dispute with two haulage companies, Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport but it says the real argument is with Shell. The union accuses the oil company of hiding behind its contractors. This is denied by Shell.
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A Portuguese truck driver was killed while manning a strikers’ road block on Tuesday as a global backlash over high fuel prices escalated on Tuesday.

Europe remained the epicenter of a movement begun by fishermen, with lorry drivers’ pickets at the Spain-France border causing massive disruption to fuel, food and even parts deliveries for industrial output.

However, the global and fluctuating pattern of workers’ action was underlined as a second day of protests by government workers in India left around 20 people injured — police again using batons and water cannon to quell popular anger, with dozens detained.
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The walkout was announced after the collapse in talks between Unite and two companies who deliver fuel to Shell.

As a result around 1,000 forecourts could be starved of fuel unless a deal can be brokered next week by the arbitration service, ACAS.

Although Shell owns only 10 per cent of forecourts across the country, there are fears that the strike threat could trigger another wave of panic-buying.

Unite, which is representing 641 drivers working for Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, has submitted a demand for a 13.2 per cent pay increase.
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