Fuel tanker drivers end four-day strike

Oil tanker drivers today ended the four-day strike that caused shortages at half Shell's garages and closed one in five.

Talks intended to avoid a second walk-out on Friday are due to begin today, but the negotiations could be jeopardised by a separate dispute over the treatment of tanker drivers at the Grangemouth refinery in Scotland.

More than 600 Unite union members employed by two haulage firms today began delivering fuel to Shell garages for the first time since the strike began last week.

The action, over pay, resulted in shortages of one or more kinds of fuel at 284 of Shell’s 582 UK sites, with 121 of its petrol stations running out of fuel altogether.

More than 600 stations ran out of petrol or diesel yesterday – 7% of the 8,900 across the UK.

Unite officials will again meet managers from Hoyer and Suckling at a secret location to try to break the deadlock over pay.

Negotiations broke down last week, but informal contact was maintained over the weekend and the two sides met for more than three hours yesterday.

The meeting raised hopes that progress was being made and that a deal could be agreed before any further industrial action took place.

However, a potential problem arose at Grangemouth yesterday.

Union officials said around a dozen tanker drivers had been suspended by Scottish Fuels, the largest independent oil supplier in Scotland, after refusing to cross picket lines.

Tanker drivers from other haulage firms have refused to cross picket lines at 14 terminals and depots throughout the UK in solidarity with Shell drivers.

Government sources confirmed there had been an “escalation of trouble” at Grangemouth – which was temporarily shut down in April over a dispute about pensions – but said the situation had been resolved and deliveries would resume as normal.

One negotiator said the Grangemouth dispute had complicated negotiations over the Shell drivers.

The negotiator said punitive action by companies against their drivers was irresponsible and could prompt the Shell dispute to “spiral” into a more widespread problem.

Another four-day strike is scheduled to take place from 6am on Friday if the Shell situation is not resolved.

The haulage companies claimed unions had rejected a pay offer that would have taken the average salary of drivers to £41,500 by January 2009.

Unite said the offer would have increased pay from £32,000 to £36,000, excluding overtime.

“We understand the inconvenience this has caused to our customers, and want to thank them for their continued patience,” a Shell spokesman said.

The south-west of England was worst hit by the shortages, with the owner of one Devon garage owner reported to have been charging £1.99 a litre for unleaded petrol and diesel.