Wincanton tanker drivers set for seven days of action
16 January 2012
More than 100 Unite oil tanker drivers, working for road haulage
firm Wincanton on the ConocoPhillips contract, will begin a week
long series of stoppages from Tuesday 24 January to 31 January,
over the company’s refusal to stop the attack on drivers’ pay and
terms and conditions, says Unite, the UK’s biggest union.
The seven days of action, agreed by an overwhelming majority of
Unite members at a mass meeting held yesterday (Sunday 15 January),
follows last week’s resounding ‘yes’ vote in which 83 per cent
backed the call to strike on a 96 per cent turn out.
The Wincanton oil tanker drivers - who work out of three of the
UK’s major fuel distribution depots at Immingham, Kingsbury and
Stockton-on-Tees delivering fuel to Jet forecourts around the UK -
have had enough of the shabby treatment they have received at the
hands of ConocoPhillips, which has been pursuing a draconian
cost-down agenda with no thought to the job security of the drivers
delivering its fuel.
Oil tanker drivers play a crucial role in the economy
transporting millions of tonnes of fuel safely and on time across
the country.
Matt Draper, Unite national officer, said: “Our members could
not have sent a clearer message. Wincanton may well be surprised by
the strength of feelings amongst its drivers, but it ignores their
concerns at its peril.
“The steady erosion and the ongoing attack on the pay and terms
and conditions of not only these drivers, but of all those in the
industry, must stop. The drivers have had enough.
“ConocoPhillips holds the key to resolving this dispute. All it
needs to do is re-think its decision to abandon TUPE (Transfer of
Undertakings and Protection of Employment) and instead commit to
protecting the terms and conditions of the drivers who deliver the
company’s fuel to its forecourts safely and on time.
“ConocoPhillips has a duty to ensure that in the event of a
contract tender or transfer, the terms and conditions of the
drivers are protected. It must act now to stop this race to the
bottom.”
The drivers, working on the ConocoPhillips contract, balloted
for industrial action operate out of three of the UK’s major oil
terminals; Kingsbury in Warwickshire, Immingham in Lincolnshire and
Stockton-on-Tees in the North East. A seven-day stoppage to
operations is likely to hit fuel supplies across the UK and in
particular the Midlands and the north of the country.
ENDS
For more information, please contact Chantal Chegrinec, Unite
campaigns officer, on 07774 146 777 or Matt Draper on 07970 081
519.
Notes to editors:
The strike action will begin on Tuesday 24 January 2012 at 5am
and run until 04:59am on Tuesday 31 January 2012 at the sites of
Kingsbury in Warwickshire, Immingham in Lincolnshire and
Stockton-on-Tees in the North East.
