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Surprised that this hasn't been raised so far on this forum.
Basically, do you support the tanker drivers strike? I've included a vote to see if you agree with what they're actually striking over (better pay) or not, or whether you would support them if it was purely about the high fuel prices/taxes we have to pay.
So, are they justified in what they are doing? They haven't had a rise in their basic pay for 15 years (why haven't they been on strike before?!), but have had massive increases to their overtime pay. That said, their overtime is limited by law because they can't drive more than 90 hours over 2 weeks by law, so what they can potentially earn has gone down in real terms since the early 90s when they were directly employed by Shell.
However...
They earn far more as a tanker driver than as an HGV driver shifting clothes or sandwiches for Tescos. Apparently this is because it's a dangerous job - as evidenced by the number of tanker drivers killed or injured as a result of their rigs exploding (err, that would be none then...) If you want a dangerous job then sign up as a Private in the Army and head off to Afghanistan where you can be shot at, blown up by a suicide bomber or shelled in your tent, over 100 have now been killed, and you can earn less than half what you're on now as a glorified lorry driver...
(You can probably gather which way I'm leaning here...)
The other problem I have with this strike is that the drivers who are on strike are contracted to Shell through a sub-contractor to deliver fuel to Shell forecourts. In that case, why has my local Tescos, Asda, Morrisons and BP all run out of fuel? The driver's dispute is with Shell and Shell alone.
If a tanker driver is contracted by Tesco to deliver fuel to a Tesco garage but refuses to cross the picket lines to collect fuel from the depot, then he (or she) is breaking the law, pure and simple, and should be sacked. Equally the law is pretty clear about encouraging others not involved in your dispute to go on strike, so those on strike who ask non-Shell contracted drivers to observe their strike are also breaking the law and are therefore opening themselves up to being sacked.
The bottom line is that the driver's dispute is only about pay. They have turned down a pay offer of nearly 7% and this is an obscenely large pay rise in this current financial climate as it is. The tanker drivers have little sympathy with the UK public and should settle as soon as possible and stop inconveniencing the entire population of the UK over a few hundred pounds per year for no more than 600 lorry drivers. This is totally out of proportion.
Rant over.
Basically, do you support the tanker drivers strike? I've included a vote to see if you agree with what they're actually striking over (better pay) or not, or whether you would support them if it was purely about the high fuel prices/taxes we have to pay.
So, are they justified in what they are doing? They haven't had a rise in their basic pay for 15 years (why haven't they been on strike before?!), but have had massive increases to their overtime pay. That said, their overtime is limited by law because they can't drive more than 90 hours over 2 weeks by law, so what they can potentially earn has gone down in real terms since the early 90s when they were directly employed by Shell.
However...
They earn far more as a tanker driver than as an HGV driver shifting clothes or sandwiches for Tescos. Apparently this is because it's a dangerous job - as evidenced by the number of tanker drivers killed or injured as a result of their rigs exploding (err, that would be none then...) If you want a dangerous job then sign up as a Private in the Army and head off to Afghanistan where you can be shot at, blown up by a suicide bomber or shelled in your tent, over 100 have now been killed, and you can earn less than half what you're on now as a glorified lorry driver...
(You can probably gather which way I'm leaning here...)
The other problem I have with this strike is that the drivers who are on strike are contracted to Shell through a sub-contractor to deliver fuel to Shell forecourts. In that case, why has my local Tescos, Asda, Morrisons and BP all run out of fuel? The driver's dispute is with Shell and Shell alone.
If a tanker driver is contracted by Tesco to deliver fuel to a Tesco garage but refuses to cross the picket lines to collect fuel from the depot, then he (or she) is breaking the law, pure and simple, and should be sacked. Equally the law is pretty clear about encouraging others not involved in your dispute to go on strike, so those on strike who ask non-Shell contracted drivers to observe their strike are also breaking the law and are therefore opening themselves up to being sacked.
The bottom line is that the driver's dispute is only about pay. They have turned down a pay offer of nearly 7% and this is an obscenely large pay rise in this current financial climate as it is. The tanker drivers have little sympathy with the UK public and should settle as soon as possible and stop inconveniencing the entire population of the UK over a few hundred pounds per year for no more than 600 lorry drivers. This is totally out of proportion.
Rant over.
