Merseyside petrol stations begin to run out of fuel

Jun 16 2008 by Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

PETROL pumps were running dry last night as the full impact of Shell drivers’ four-day strike began to emerge in Merseyside.

Many stations, ranging from Crosby to Heswall and into Wavertree, were either out of fuel or were forced to impose limits on how much motorists could take from dwindling stocks. The North West as a whole has been among the

worst hit by the action. And last night union boss Tony Woodley told the Daily Post that more strikes were planned.

Fresh talks aimed at resolving the fuel tanker drivers’ dispute are due to be held today.

Unite, which represents more than 600 drivers at two haulage firms who deliver fuel to Shell garages announced that a new attempt will be made to break the deadlocked row over pay.

Unite joint leader Mr Woodley visited pickets manning a 24- hour line outside Shell Stanlow Oil Refinery, at Ellesmere Port, last night.

He said: “The situation is that we’ve given the company (the distribution contractor Hoyer) notice of another four-day strike next weekend.”

The decision comes after three days of industrial action which has seen panic buying at stations across Merseyside.

A garage in Islington was down to a single operable pump yesterday morning, with one in Aintree shut since Friday.

A garage in Bootle was only left with a trickle of more expensive VPower, having run out of diesel and unleaded petrol on Friday.

Other areas of Merseyside where petrol stations were running low included Aigburth, Anfield and Formby.

Some forecourts have also seen the cost of unleaded fuel rise to £1.18 per litre. However, the picture across the region was varied as some stations managed to cope with the shortages as the bulk of panic buying died away by Saturday.

Mr Woodley added: “We’re working hard to keep the lines of communication open, and we want to resolve this dispute.

“Our overall objectives are that our members are given £36,000 as a basic rate of pay.

“The figures that have been bandied about include long hours and overtime.

“The union’s objective is that our members shouldn’t have to keep working long and unsocial hours which put our members at risk.”

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

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

The dispute also led up to 80 lorries to form a rolling blockade on the M6, from 9am on Saturday. Under police escort, the drivers enforced a 40mph go-slow along a 60-mile stretch from Lymm Services.

Unlike Stansted, where one Easyjet flight was delayed due to refuelling, passengers flying in and out of John Lennon Airport were kept on schedule.

The airport was advising airlines to fuel up before travelling to Liverpool.

JLA spokesman Robin Tudor said: “I suspect next weekend we will be advising our airlines to do the same thing.”

The full financial impact on Shell has yet to be calculated.

richarddown