16 May, 2012
By the slimmest of vote margins, 2,000 UK petrol-tanker drivers represented by Unite the Union voted to accept a conciliation service’s proposal, ending a months-long dispute between drivers and seven contract carriers involving work terms and conditions, including safety and subcontracting.
The dispute, dating back to February, drove motorists into fuel-hoarding and panic-buying hysteria, mostly triggered by the over-reaction of Prime Minister David Cameron’s government. The hysteria included a declaration that 1,400 British military personnel were being trained to deliver fuel oil to retail outlets as a strike precaution.
An accumulated consultative ballot that was counted on 11 May found that 51% of the 69% of drivers who voted accepted the mediated proposal by UK’s Advisory, Conciliation, and Mediation Services (ACAS) after eight days of non-stop bargaining. The vote was a re-ballot of one taken in March following concerns that some drivers were unable to vote.
The ACAS-brokered agreement did introduce an industry-wide accreditation system called “Passport,” which must promptly be implemented to cover health, safety and training. One major concern to drivers was companies using sub-contract workers to deliver fuel, so creation of minimum industry-wide standards is expected to serve as deterrent.
Unite warned that the overall narrow “yes” vote left no room for employer complacency. The union said the dispute uncovered deep-seated problems in UK’s petrol supply, exacerbated by a mantra of “profits before stability.”
“This narrow vote in favour lifts the threat of strike action,” said Unite Assistant General Secretary Diana Holland, “but leaves the companies with no room for complacency. We look forward to the rapid implementation of the ACAS proposals which include an industry-wide ‘Passport’.”
Now, Unite, the seven oil companies, UK’s Health and Safety Executive (HSE), and the Department for Energy, Environment and Climate Change – the government entity that threatened to break a strike with the military – must begin implementation of the “Passport” scheme by 1 June.
The seven fuel distribution companies involved include the largest Hoyer, with 500 drivers, and Wincanton, DHL, BP, Norbert Dentressangle, JW Sucklings and Turners. Majorities of drivers at DHL, Wincanton, Hoyer, and Turners voted against the proposals, while those at BP, Norbert Dentressangle, and JW Sucklings voted in favour. The accumulated vote was 737 for, 711 against.
The 2,000 drivers deliver 90% of UK’s refined fuel oil products to thousands of retail petrol stations.