Fuel strike talks resume

16 June 2008

Two sides will meet again
Second strike threatened
Around 600 of 8700 fuel stations disrupted

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Talks between striking fuel tanker drivers and their employers are set to resume today.

The drivers' four-day strike is set to end at 6am on Tuesday, and talks are being planned to avert a second four-day strike, which is set to begin at 6am this Friday.

The current strike is reported to have led to an increase of 25% in demand for fuel as motorists panic-buy, with around 600 of the UK's 8700 petrol stations running out of fuel so far.

The worst-hit areas are Cardiff, Cornwall, London and the West Midlands.

However, the union representing the workers, Unite, says there is ground for optimism. Assistant-general secretary of Unite, Len McCluskey, said: 'We're hopeful. We'll be working hard to try and conclude a satisfactory resolution to the dispute.'

Bernie Holloway, a director at Hoyer UK, one of the haulage firms affected, said: 'I don't think we should kid ourselves - there's a lot of work to be done.'

The two sides are due to meet at a secret location later on Monday morning.

The haulage companies said the unions rejected a pay offer that would take the drivers' average salary to £41,500 by January 2009.

However, Unite says the offer would have increased salaries from just under £32,000 to £36,000.

The union also says it is in dispute with Shell, because it is the oil giant with dictates the structure and price of the tanker contracts.