Talks to resolve the tanker strike will be too late to stop one in four forecourts running dry, it has been reported. Over 2,000 petrol stations are expected to now run out of petrol or diesel before striking tanker drivers are set to return to work tomorrow.
This morning there were fresh hopes of a resolution to the walkout with union leaders and employers returning to the negotiating table. Unite, the union representing tanker drivers from Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, said a settlement was ‘very close’.
It is understood that 647 garages were forced to turn away drivers yesterday, including 249 Shell forecourts, which are supplied by the striking workers. ‘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.
However as Unite prepared for fresh talks it refused to back down. ‘It would take very little extra money now to resolve this dispute - less than an hour's profits from Shell,’ said a spokesman. 'We are very close. Where there's talk, there's hope.’ The tanker drivers are calling for a £4,200 pay increase, worth 13 per cent, to take them to £36,000 a year.
A major fuel took place on the M6 yesterday with lorry drivers calling for a cut in fuel duty.Lengthy tailbacks were created on the motorway as drivers travelled at 40mph to junction 35 at Carnforth before returning southbound. Many truckers say their livelihoods are at risk from spiralling fuel costs.
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