http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/9170200/Motorists-should-consider-stockpiling-fuel-for-strike-suggests-No-10.html
Motorists should consider stockpiling fuel for strike, suggests No 10
Motorists should consider stockpiling petrol in case a strike by tanker drivers disrupts supplies, the Government has suggested.
10:30PM BST 27 Mar 2012
103 CommentsDowning Street said that those who rely on cars to get to work should have “contingency plans” for possible disruption of the fuel supply network.
Ministers are considering a range of options for keeping fuel flowing, including deploying Service personnel to drive tankers. No 10 has not ruled out trying to employ foreign drivers to stand in for British staff.
Tanker drivers from the Unite union, who supply around 90 per cent of British service stations, have voted for strikes in a dispute over pay and conditions. Cabinet ministers yesterday discussed emergency plans to minimise disruption from walkouts that could start over the Easter weekend.
The Government is considering stockpiling fuel, with emergency services having a priority on supplies. No 10 said motorists and companies should also be planning for the pumps to run dry. “People, but especially businesses, should look at their contingency plans,” said a spokesman. “Those who rely on vehicles for their work should ensure they have contingency plans in place.”
Labour said the comments were “the height of irresponsibility” for “giving the impression that people should be panic buying.”
Ministers said earlier this week that they were considering training troops to drive tankers, but admitted yesterday that soldiers could not cover the entire fuel distribution network. That could mean trying to recruit alternative civilian drivers, which the unions would be almost to certain to challenge as illegal.
Ed Davey, the Energy Secretary, last night asked ACAS, the reconciliation service, to approach the union and the employers to seek a compromise.
