UK Fuel strike: filling stations running dry
Pastor Dale Morgan
UK Fuel strike: filling stations running dry*
By John Bingham
Last Updated: 8:50AM BST 16/06/2008
One in four filling stations could run dry despite talks to resolve the
fuel strike, retailers are warning.
Shell tankers stand idle at the petrol tanker depot in Coryton
More than 2,000 forecourts are now expected to run out of petrol or
diesel before tanker drivers return to work on Tuesday following a strike.
The warning came despite fresh hopes of a resolution to the crisis as
union leaders and employers return to the negotiating table.
Unite, which represents the striking drivers in the dispute with their
employers Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, said the two parties were
"very close" to a settlement.
But despite the optimism there remains the option of a further strike
next weekend.
The number of forecourts running dry gathered pace over the weekend with
647 garages forced to turn customers away on Sunday, including 249 Shell
garages - more than five times as many as were affected by Saturday,
according to figures from the Department for Business, Employment and
Regulatory Reform (BERR).
And even when the current strike does end, the process of restocking
will be hampered by an overtime ban on drivers imposed by the union.
"At this rate we could be looking at more than 2,000 garages running out
of fuel before the strike is over," Ray Holloway of the Petrol
Retailers' Association said.
But, with the two sides preparing for fresh talks, Unite said: "It would
take very little extra money now to resolve this dispute - less than an
hour's profits from Shell.
"We are very close. Where there's talk, there's hope."
The tanker drivers, who supply Shell, are calling for a £4,200 pay
increase, worth 13 per cent, to take them to £36,000 a year.
Their union says the drivers are on a basic wage of £31,800 which, they
argue, would now be £46,000 if the jobs had not previously been
outsourced by Shell.
South West England has been the worst affected region so far, but
nowhere has completely escaped the impact of the strike.
Other fuel companies have been affected after drivers resorted to panic
buying.
Texaco, which has 1,100 stations, said between 40 and 50 garages had run
out of either petrol or diesel.
A spokesman said: "We haven't had any sites running out in the South
East, but all the other areas have reported between three and five sites
out."
He said the sites were being re-supplied within a matter of hours.
Total, which has 850 stations, said three stations had run out
completely and 12 had run out of diesel or petrol, all on England's
south coast.
Esso said it had reports of sites running out, while BP said demand
remained high.