Petrol hit £2 a litre and forecourts ran dry but the fuel strike is finally over – until the end of the week. This is the warning from unions who have called off the tanker strike but have vowed to walkout again if talks fail to settle the dispute over pay.
The tanker drivers deliver for Shell and the strike over the weekend caused panic buying and shortages all over the UK. Drivers are now returning to work bringing hope that the petrol stations will now be able to stock-up again.
Talks are set to resume today and the union for the drivers – who are employed by Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport – said another four-day strike will begin on Friday if the matter is not resolved.
The haulage companies claim unions have rejected a pay offer which would have taken the drivers' average salary to £41,500 by January 2009. However Unite union says that if you take away overtime the offer would have increased salaries from just under £32,000 to £36,000.
Now petrol stations have a brief window to replenish stocks in preparation for another strike. One petrol station in Devon started charging £1.99 a litre, saying that it was the only way to ration supplies.
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