Tanker strike bites

Jun 15 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

HUNDREDS of thousands of gallons of petrol were held up at Shell’s Stanlow site last night, after the four-day strike by tanker drivers got under way.

The massive amount of supplies – equivalent to 43,000 tonnes of fuel – started to build up after pickets launched a vigil at the refinery gates.

Holding banners and flags, the drivers cheered and applauded as they persuaded drivers from other oil companies to turn around and drive away. Placards read: “Shell profits gush” and “Drivers’ pay trickles”.

Shell Stanlow spokesman Ed Brady said: “We’re losing something like 43,000 tonnes of fuel that would normally be distributed over the weekend period.

“Nothing moved out today, and clearly there’s going to be a financial impact because we’ve lost money on those tonnes that would normally go out.”

The striking drivers started their protest at 5.30am when the last drivers completed their Thursday night shift.

Cheshire Police reduced the size of the picket line to six – the legal limit outside a workplace. The remaining 20 or 30 protesters were penned off behind a fence.

The strikes came after talks with Unite, the drivers’ union, broke down after nine hours without a settlement on Thursday.

Distribution contractors Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport said they had offered a 7.3% rise backdated to January 1, 2008. If accepted, that deal would have boosted the average driver’s annual pay cheque past £39,000.

The truckers’ employers offered to follow this with a further 6% rise from January 1, 2009, taking average pay to around £41,500.

However, the strikes across the country look likely to escalate this afternoon. Protesters plan to hit the M6 at Lymm, in Cheshire.

Truckers will form a rolling blockade, travelling at approximately 40mph, all the way to Carnforth, Lancashire. They will then return to Lymm on the M6 southbound.

Police have issued warnings that traffic is likely to be badly affected right into Liverpool.

A police statement said: “Our advice to motorists would be to only travel if you need to. It will have a knock-on effect to those people using the connecting roads.”

Meanwhile, garages across Merseyside were hit by panic buying despite renewed government advice.

The UK Petrol Industry Association (UKPIA) estimates that demand for fuel has risen by a third for the time of year.

Several garages reported they were expecting to run out of fuel last night, and some had begun to run short of diesel by late afternoon.

But Shell stations in Maghull and Aigburth were likely to be supplied with emergency fuel for the blue light services.

John Lennon Airport has had to advise airlines to fuel up before travelling to Liverpool, and have only been able to carry out top-up fuelling where necessary.

No scheduled departures have been affected.

richarddown