Fuel Tanker Drivers' proposed strike action

[Deleted member 9966]

I've just read the latest update in the press

Fuel Tanker Drivers' Leaders Reject Deal - Yahoo! News UK

Whilst I agree that everybody should receive a fair wage and decent terms and conditions of employment, I cannot help but think that the UK will be brought to its knees if strike action lasts for anymore than a few days.

I work for a chemicals manufacturing business, where we rely on lorries and trucks to bring in our raw materials and send out our finished products. Our major customers around the globe won't give a monkies that fuel tanker drivers are on strike in the UK and the reason the latest deliveries hasn't arrived is because the hauliers have run out of fuel. Plus I employ a chunk of people who commute over 12 miles to get to work each day. Not a problem when there is a viable supply of fuel from a range of outlets, but when those outlets run dry.....

I am intending on having a discussion with my MD tomorrow on business continuity planning to deal with a possible fuel shortage that may prevent people getting to work, may prevent our materials and products arriving and leaving, and will most probably see a cut into our profits as no doubt our hauliers will have to put their prices up when the cost of fuel goes up due to its scarcity.

What will you guys do, as business owners, sole-traders, partnerships, if you can't get fuel to get to a job? What about you guys who travel across the UK to undertake jobs? What will you do to make sure you're not left high and dry?

Times are hard, and I think they're going to get a whole lot harder.

 

[Ian]

I'm working fairly local for the next couple of weeks so I'm not too worried. So long as the media don't blow it out of proportion (yeah right!) everyone should just continue as normal. The people who cause the shortages are those who use about a tenners worth of fuel a week, but brim their tanks at the first mention of a strike, do they really think a fuel, strike will last 6 weeks??????

 

[Perry]

Red I am back at the weekend better have a look at the news :yikes:

 

[doug boardley]

luckily for next few weeks I'm working within a mile of home, so if it came to it I could take my tools in pick-up, leave them on site, park yoot up at home and bike it

 

[DHTiling]

according to sky news , no strike action yet, just talks to start again to try and come to a satisfactory outcome..

 

[Deleted member 9966]

Red I am back at the weekend better have a look at the news :yikes:

come on Pete, get up to speed :lol: no cheap fuel over here like there is over there... and step away from that sunlounger.. you're looking a bit too relaxed :8:

 

[DHTiling]

Looks like they have till Friday to say of they are going to strike.. Fuel Strike: Leaders Of Tanker Drivers Reject Possible Deal Over Potential Strike Action | Business | Sky News

 

[Deleted member 9966]

Thing is, the majority of union members have already been balloted. The members are prepared to strike. If a deal isn't struck, the members will be waiting for their union leaders to advise when, not if, they're going to strike. I feel it's going to happen but I can't guage how long the strike will last for. London Underground workers strike regularly, but only for 1 or 2 days at a time.

 

[Perry]

Kids can't get the news on they are taking up the Internet

 

[Dan]

I can't stand unions. They're middle-men where middle-men are not required. They make money out of CAUSING strikes and they love getting in the news about it as it increases their memberships therefore profits.

If they genuinely wanted the best for their members they would be charities and the unions would be made up of ONLY workforce and not 'consultants' or 'mediators' or whatever they class themselves as.

That aside I think everybody has taken a huge hit with the economy and to be frank we just had to too good pre-August 2008 with near to unlimited credit so I'm not surprised the country is on its backside and striking over pensions and pay deals won't fix the country.

£45,000 + they're on those tanker drivers are. They should sack the lot and let other people have their jobs.

Does my head in, teachers, firemen, tankers, whoever it is striking it never gets them their goals and only costs lives, education, wasted efforts, and the only ones winning are the unions who if they got their targets met would just move the goal posts so that they stayed in a job.

If my boss didn't pay me well, and /or I didn't like the terms of the job, I'd go find a better one. If I couldn't then surely the fact is, the offers isn't that bad at all?


Rant over. Sorry if I've offending anybody there.

 

[Perry]

If they aren't getting what they think they deserve why don't they get another job that's what we have to do in our industry it shouldn't be that hard I can understand if they are being put upon (but are they ?)

 

[Dan]

My mother in law is going nuts about the government moving the retirement age from whatever to whatever. She missed it by a week and now has to work years longer!!!

Just to rub it in a bit more, she is a twin, her twin is a bloke, and he still gets to retire when he was expecting!!!!

She should go on strike! - Not the blinking tanker drivers on a fair screw and with decent secure jobs, employed by one of the couple of biggest trillion dollar industries known to man, oil!

 

[Del W]

Can we now use rude words in our posts/replies ?

 

[Deleted member 9966]

Can we now use rude words in our posts/replies ?

not in the open forums Del. remember, polite and constructive :yesnod: :lol:

 

[Dan]

Didn't realise you were talking about me then haha - fixed and I've told myself off there look too.