Hundreds of soldiers are being lined up to stand in for fuel tanker drivers threatening industrial action next month.
The Army and police are on standby to ensure deliveries do not grind to a halt because of disputes over rising diesel and petrol prices.

Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude said the Government stood "ready to act" if members of the Unite union go on strike.

The results of a strike ballot of 2,000 tanker drivers is expected later, with a view to begin the walkout from April 3.

Mr Maude appealed to the union and employers, including DHL and BP, to come to an agreement to avert industrial action.

But the Government has put in place contingency plans that could see soldiers being called in to drive tankers and police preventing blockades.

Mr Maude said: "We are calling on the trade union Unite and the employers involved to work together to reach an agreement that will avert industrial action.

"Widespread strike action affecting fuel supply at our supermarkets, garages and airports could cause disruption across the country.

"The general public should not and must not suffer from this dispute and strike action is manifestly not the answer.

"Although we are pushing for an agreement, we have learnt the lessons of the past and stand ready to act to minimise disruption to motorists, to industry and, in particular, to our emergency services, in the event of a strike."

Unite announced last month that it would ballot members working for seven major fuel distribution firms on whether to launch a campaign of industrial action.

The union warned that strikes could hit petrol supplies at supermarkets, garages and airports across the country.

The 2,000 drivers account for 90% of those supplying petrol to UK forecourts.

Unite said there had been "unrelenting attacks" on drivers' terms and conditions, adding that it had been trying to establish a forum to agree industry - wide best practice on issues like safety and training.

http://news.sky.com/home/uk-news/article/16195757

All the stations ive gone past today have had queque and been jampacked, shell on hoylake rd moreton had a queque all the way down hoylake rd, upton shell had all unleaded tanks run dry about 8pm, shell hoylake rd where all dry about 8pm, i think people are stockpiling, people where filling there tanks and loads of cans in there boots

hopefully those drivers will get a perk, not fair them driving for buttons when these lot are on between 2 - 3 times as much

Read today that tanker drivers are only on on 45K for 37hours. The Unite Union strikes again, dinosaurs!

Is there a problem with a workforce being on 45K a year or is it only a problem if they are members of a Trade Union? Is there a further problem if members of a Trade Union see an erosion of safety in their own working conditions and environment raising a question?

I was not aware of the panic at the pumps in wirral. I have spent most of the time of the past week in manchester and I have seen no sign of it here. Do we have a lot more me me me types in wirral?.

Those stocking fuel at home should also be careful....

The Petroleum Spirit (Motor Vehicles etc.) Regulations 1929 and the Petroleum Spirit (Plastic Containers) Regulations 1982 limit the amount of petrol that can be kept in a domestic garage or within six metres of a building (e.g. most domestic driveways). The limit is a maximum of two suitable metal containers each of a maximum capacity of ten litres or two plastic containers (which have to be of an approved design) each of a maximum capacity of five litres. These limits also apply to any containers kept in a vehicle parked in the garage or on the driveway (but not to the internal fuel tank of the vehicle). Under no circumstances should the petrol containers be stored in the home itself.

I wonder what the punishment for storing fuel, like the goverment does is?

Probably a fine....

Although it does only mention if it is within 6 meters of the house. Further away than that and you might be ok

no fuel at tesco bidston and lots off ques at all stations

I recall that during a previous threat of fuel supply disruption, someone was fined for keeping a wheelie bin full of petrol in his house !!
Yes, a wheelie bin full ! I presume no one in the house smoked.

I have barely any petrol in my car at the moment, must be down to about 15 miles left. Been waiting for payday tomorrow to get some, now I don't know where I am going to get any thanks to all these idiots panic buying!!

Wish I was on 45K a year...not even on half of that, as for panic buying, if people bought normally, the pumps woldnt run dry, not every one can afford to fill there car and assorted cans every time they go past a petrol station....

Quite a few years ago when fuel was about £3 a gallon, a mate of mine had a garage in Cleveland st. A similar situation was in place as now, one particular woman I remember pulling in and asking my mate to fill her car up, he got about 53p in and he had a few coming in and only getting about a couple quids worth before the tanks were full. These idiots were sitting in a queue for 15 minutes before they got to the pumps. What he was forced to do was put a sign up, minimum of £10, He reckoned if you couldn't get £10 in you didn't need it. I think I remember Shell on Borough Rd doing it, only I think there's was a minimum of £20.

I read yesterday that crude oil prices are the lowest for six weeks. Today I passed one filling station that had put their prices up by two pence a litre overnight. Profiteering!

Mr Osbourne is a happy chappy though. I believe as of yesterday he has raised more than 56 million in tax above and beyond what they normally get. That is only within the last few days.

Makes you sick.

i can remember getting nearly 5gallons for a £1 and it was in proportion to income, and it was put in for you by an attendant who checked oil and water tyres and wipe windscreen,
you just sat in your car and passed money out of window lol.
you never had to worry about soaring costs .
ah good old days eh.

Not really. Now people won't be buying as much fuel for a while as they have full tanks/jerry cans to use up so in the long run no more fuel will be sold than would have been. Possibly even less in fact as some people would have been reducing car use so as to conserve what they had.

If I can get 56 Million today, then tomorrow I will get a hell of a lot of interest on it while it is in my bank account. Same applies to Government irrespective of what happens tomorrow. Just to get back on topic, it is mainly the RAF and not the army who would be delivering fuel if there was a strike. I just hope they don't put Avgas/tag in the unleaded pumps.

Surprisingly (well not really as we all know what the government & media are like when it somes to sensationalisation), it transpires that tanker drivers aren't on £45k a year, not all of them anyway. This is a copy of a payslip from a fuel tanker driver. I'm no Carol Vorderman but even I can work out that this doesn't amount to £45k I make it just over £27k a year, just over £37k with the same amount of overtime per month.

Still a decent wage though, I must admit.

I wouldn't mind 27K, certainly wouldn't feel the need to strike over it.

A friend of mine returned from Helmand Province on Friday, he put it quite simply:

UK Tanker Drivers, up and down the M6/M62 - £45k p/a

Army Fuel Driver, on mine strewn rebel housing, mountain tracks £17k p/a

Remind me, which ones were striking over safety?

the arris oles.

Why don't you try and get the army's pay up instead of trying to bring another working mans pay down, a lot of comments on here based on envy and nothing else. I wish the army lads were on treble what their on but its still not an acceptable rate for getting blown up, no amount of money is.

army colonel, sat safely behind a desk majority of the time £80k+

How much do you earn a year? I bet it's more than £17,000. Just for fiddling with a few computers?

I agree totally, the only question is what amount IS acceptable for the risks that they take ?

For a lot of guys now they seem to see the Army as a place to be trained for a trade that they'll use later in life. Travel the world now, get the pay later with no student debts hanging around their shoulders.

How much I earn is completely irrelevant to the situation we are discussing, not entirely sure how you went down that route, I was defending the Army guys and you decide to attack me for it, as you agree with me ???

Casualty of Friendly Fire.

There is no rate of pay that is sufficient for costing someone their life or welfare. Its when some contributors give the impression that when someone is in harms way a higher rate of pay would make it more acceptable. I would like to see the armed services pay improved, not that I think it would be more acceptable to be blown up but to give them a better standard of living. It annoys me when comparisons are made to other sections of workers when people give the impression that they think are on to much and shouldn't try to improve their pay and conditions, If they were on that salary or offered a pay rise to take them up to 45K, I doubt very much anyone would turn it down, if they did I suggest they book themselves in to a care home.

Just for the sake of the discussion - How much do you need to be on before you are satisfied enough to not hold the rest of the country to ransom? That's what the miners did every year and their job was definitely dangerous but it doesn't make that an excuse to cause everyon else misery. Myself, if I wanted more money I should've gone for promotion but I was happpier just being happy, book me in to that care home bert, I don't do envy I'm afraid.

I recall that was a taxi driver in Sheffield. He had numerous wheelie bins full. They all leaked. The roads were closed for a couple of days

This dispute is nowt to do with pay. It's about Health and Safety and Training. The rush downwards by the oil companies and retailers has made the industry unsafe. Asda only uses unmanned sites, there is a lack of effort to do repairs and maintenance. Guys are delivering fuel after one days training, ridiculous. I was asked to trai soldiers in Sutton Coldfield. I refused, the training I do is one to one and takes around two weeks, sometimes more. I was training a guy for two days and he just went. I thought he'd been put on another job. When I asked, he was out delivering fuel. Madness

I'd do it for the wages they must be on, man people need to make their minds up, they moan if there's no work then they moan about the work they have, jeese shut up or ship out.

For the sake of discussion I suppose everyone has different levels on what makes them happy as far as pay goes. Its a fact of life some workers can hold a company or even a country to ransom, it works both ways, a company or a country can also hold its workers to ransom, and yet very little is said when company or country hold its workers down. As this discussion is mainly about tanker drivers and the industry they work in, its probably an industry that has one of the biggest financial turnovers ever, rich pickings for management up and shareholders and yet when it comes down to the shop floor workers they are frowned upon for trying to not only uphold their level of pay but for also trying keep their terms and working conditions intact. If you want to live in a capitalist society, don't start moaning when the workers want to join you.

IMHO it's a political strike, no more, no less. Len is the new Scargill, simples.

If one of these tankers had an accident in a busy town centre and blew up or engulfed loads of nearby folk in flames, then there would be a huge outcry about Health and Safety.
As bert says when comparing wages it'soften rounded down to the lowest wage, never lifted up to the higher.
eg The Gov says public sector workers wages should be lowered to similar jobs and wages in the private sector.

The new God is Profit and more profit.

Your pay isn't irrelevant as you implied that tanker drivers are overpaid for what is a difficult and sometimes dangerous job. If were going down that road, why not tell us how much you earn so we can compare your worth to that of the military?
Soldiers may very well be underpaid. Indeed, they earn less than me and my job is far, far easier. But don't use that as a stick to bash the tanker drivers with. Have a go at MP, bankers, professional footballers, company CEOs etc if you really want to have a go at someone overpaid.
Also, this strike is about safety and working conditions. No wonder this country is in such a mess. Ordinary people having a go at each other and not seeing the real problems. The parasites at the top skimming of the rest of us.

I don't wish to come across as offensive to you, Doctor. I usually find your posts eloquent, but I think your offering up a straw man arguement on this occassion.

But don't you think that we should be able to work safely. If we applied that ethic, we'd still be sending kids up chimneys

The guys with little training are working for less money which is driving down the wages for the properly trained drivers. That is what its all about when you look past the health and safety issue. With out that there would be no talk of strikes. It always boils down to wages at the end of the day. I do however support the tanker drivers because big companys are also trying to de skill the industry i work in and its already taking effect. The working man is getting screwed at the moment.

I would support any person "fighting" for what they want but why should the public suffer? They get about £45K PA, and yes I would do the training, and do the job for £35K.

If any strike was about the issues it is purported to be then I could go along with it, but they are not. They are always about the Union leader being a militant and wanting to bring down the Govt. or give the boss a blackeye. People may believe they are about H&S, or wages etc. but they are mainly all about the Union leaders' egos. When McClusky has had his go at it then Serwotka will take his turn, then........ and so it goes on. When I was a civvy I never ever had a strike where the ordinary Union member came out of it with anything, it was always about the hierarchy.

Yes, I agree to having safety bit comeon, most of the safety requirements are pure nonsense.

People have brains, they can work out safe practice, if not then I'm sorry but they don't belong in that line of work.

Your pay isn't irrelevant as you implied that tanker drivers are overpaid for what is a difficult and sometimes dangerous job. If were going down that road, why not tell us how much you earn so we can compare your worth to that of the military?
Soldiers may very well be underpaid. Indeed, they earn less than me and my job is far, far easier. But don't use that as a stick to bash the tanker drivers with. Have a go at MP, bankers, professional footballers, company CEOs etc if you really want to have a go at someone overpaid.
Also, this strike is about safety and working conditions. No wonder this country is in such a mess. Ordinary people having a go at each other and not seeing the real problems. The parasites at the top skimming of the rest of us.

I don't wish to come across as offensive to you, Doctor. I usually find your posts eloquent, but I think your offering up a straw man arguement on this occassion. [/quote]

the Dr's wage has got nothing to do with this statement, he was referencing a quote from someone who well may have to drive if this strike goes ahead. i dont think this comment relates to pay either, if someone has a gripe earning a minimum of 17K a year, (without going into pay issues of being on tour) then put there chit in, go outside and do a tanker job, its about conditions and the fact that the people driving will have to conduct such in worse conditions than those striking, because remember, armed forces can and mostly are exempt from drivers hours, definatly in this case, proberly 14hrs a day which is more than any driver , but they cant strike, only thing they can do is have a moan and get on with it.

you say parasites at the top skimming off the rest, thats just an excuse to do nothing, you say that this country is in a mess. ordinary people having ago at each other and not seeing the real problem is exactly what you have just done.

at the end of the day, he is speaking 2nd hand from someone who could potentially be in this situation, a perfectly valid comment

sorry, that didnt come out right :-(



the Dr's wage has got nothing to do with this statement, he was referencing a quote from someone who well may have to drive if this strike goes ahead. i dont think this comment relates to pay either, if someone has a gripe earning a minimum of 17K a year, (without going into pay issues of being on tour) then put there chit in, go outside and do a tanker job, its about conditions and the fact that the people driving will have to conduct such in worse conditions than those striking, because remember, armed forces can and mostly are exempt from drivers hours, definatly in this case, proberly 14hrs a day which is more than any driver , but they cant strike, only thing they can do is have a moan and get on with it.

you say parasites at the top skimming off the rest, thats just an excuse to do nothing, you say that this country is in a mess. ordinary people having ago at each other and not seeing the real problem is exactly what you have just done.

at the end of the day, he is speaking 2nd hand from someone who could potentially be in this situation, a perfectly valid comment

I'm sure that the Bromborough one has two pay windows, as does Queensferry.

Queensferry deffo does, I had to go there a couple of weeks back as the one next to the motor auction has now closed down which is a pain.

Brombrough does and also has two card pumps