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Fuel Tanker talks set to resume

Discussions to end the dispute over fuel tanker drivers’ working conditions are set to resume later today.

Talks will be chaired by conciliation service Acas, who told the BBC that it was encouraged that both parties were “positively engaged in the process”.

The Unite union’s mandate to call strike action expires on Tuesday, and under employment law is will now have to decide whether to call strike action. It is possible that Unite will announce a token one-hour strike to retain the mandate.

Alternatively, employers have the option of extending the mandate.

If they were to strike, they would need to provide seven days’ notice of any walkouts.

After seven hours of talks on Monday, a spokesperson from Acas said: “I am encouraged that the parties are still positively engaged in the process. Talks will reconvene tomorrow morning,”

The Union wants to introduce minimum pay and conditions regulations for workers, many of whom have had their contracts changed repeatedly.

If a strike does go ahead in the coming weeks, the Prime Minister has announced that enough Ministry of Defence staff have been trained to ensure that at least 60% of the nation’s fuel supplies could be provided.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .