Unite has sent a letter to Ed Davey, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change yesterday, pleading with him to intervene in the tanker drivers’ dispute.
On Monday, Unite revealed that its 2,000 tanker driver members voted by an overwhelming 69 per cent in favour of strike action to defend their industry against the oil companies’ attacks.
In yesterday’s letter, the union urges the cabinet minister to help avoid confrontation by bringing to the table all the stakeholders in the industry.
The full letter follows:
‘Dear Ed Davey,
‘This letter is to welcome your call for talks to take place on the serious situation in the oil distribution sector.
‘You aimed your message at Unite. But it is the oil companies, retailers and employers that are currently the barrier. Let me confirm, Unite is strongly committed to talks and to achieving a negotiated resolution.
‘This is what we told Energy Minister, Charles Hendry when we met him on March 5th.
‘Unite’s aim is not industrial action. We have been tireless in seeking talks to avoid industrial action, but we have been frustrated at every turn.
‘This is a vital, specialist sector distributing a highly dangerous, volatile substance of very high value – each tanker load is worth approximately £28,000 to the Treasury in fuel duty.
‘Through your interventions it is clear that you recognise the strategic importance of this industry.
We need minimum standards to create stability, to ensure and protect all involved in the sector and our communities.
‘Minimum standards operate in the upstream oil sector – they also need to apply downstream.
‘The government can help avoid confrontation by bringing to the table all the stakeholders in the downstream oil distribution sector: employers, oil companies, retailers and the trade union with an agreement to establish minimum standards in a timely fashion . . .
‘Let me be totally clear, a commitment from oil companies, major retailers and employers to meaningful negotiations in a timely fashion around these issues will avert this strike.
‘We seek government assistance and pressure for this reasonable objective.
‘I look forward to hearing from you,
Yours sincerely,
‘Diana Holland, Assistant General Secretary Transport’
Cabinet Secretary Maude, far from conciliating, announced on Monday that he intends to mobilise the army to attempt to break the tanker drivers’ strike.
This strikebreaking should be met with a national stoppage by Unite and a general strike by all trade unions.
