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For the second time in two months, striking workers picketed the
gates of Grangemouth.
In April it was oil workers, striking over pension rights. Since
Friday, the pickets was connected with fuel delivery drivers, in
dispute over pay.
About 15 pickets were gathered at Gate 1 of the Grangemouth
refinery. They were carrying banners and balloons emblazoned with
the Unite union logo and placards were tied to a fence.
One read: "Shell drivers over a barrel." Another read: "Shell,
gallons of greed."
Several police officers were keeping watch.
Tony Trench, a Unite official involved in the action, said the
picket line formed at around 5:45 a.m. and only one tanker had passed through at around 7 a.m. Six others had been turned away.
Trench said: "We've only had one tanker going through. Two of
the managers stood among the pickets and were encouraging them in.
"We told the police about it and the police asked the managers to
leave the line."
There were five drivers picketing outside the BP and Shell
terminal at Aberdeen Harbour and more at Inverness, Unite said.
Pat Rafferty, senior regional organiser with the union, said:
"The support we've had has been absolutely tremendous; not just from
our own Shell drivers but also all the other companies up and down
the country. The dispute has been going on for some time now and it
is disappointing that Shell has not taken part fully in the talks.
Hours after the strike began, there were the first signs of panic-
buying at service stations. One petrol station in Edinburgh reported a
20-percent rise in customers buying fuel.
The Shell station in Seafield Road was crowded early in the
morning as concerns grew over the strike. Sales assistant Shiv Soni
said: "We have been quite busy from 7 a.m. There was a 20 percent jump
in our usual trade. People have been panicking a little, it seems."
Other Shell garages around the country said sales had soared but
the first to run dry were south of the border, and there were no
immediate plans to officially ration petrol in Scotland.
The action was filtering across hundreds of filling stations and
it was also expected to push rising prices further still, according
to website www.PetrolPrices. com.
But the Petrol Retailers Association (PRA) said the effects of
any strike would be "minimal."
PRA director Ray Holloway said drivers had already filled their
tanks in anticipation of a walk-out.
He said: "If people just buy a little bit more, the industry can
cope with that. It's when stocks are sucked into cars - that doesn't
normally happen so the supply system doesn't work like that. If
motorists don't do that, nobody will be inconvenienced."
The drivers' employers, Hoyer UK and Suckling Transport, insisted
their latest offer would take wages to GBP41,000, more than the
union is seeking.
Bernie Holloway, director of Hoyer UK, said: " We want to resume
further talks and are therefore extremely disappointed that the
union plans to strike again so quickly."
PetrolWorld 210608
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