Shell drivers strike.

catch "unpractical[sic] and blinkered"
Posts: 9926 Joined: 07-02-06 Location: London
Submitted by catch on 13 June, 2008 - 16:16.

TBH I didn't think these would go ahead - figured there'd be a last minute deal somehow. Whether it goes on for the full four days though remains to be seen of course. Early this morning I heard that some drivers from different companies were honouring picket lines etc. which seems like a good sign. There's a lot of news about it (over 1,000 on google news) and I didn't find anything with much detail after a quick scan.

Shame it got knocked out of the front pages just as it started with this David Davis bollocks. Oh well. Also museum staff are on strike nationally today as well, and there was a one hour wildcat by bus drivers in Preston (see other news thread).

ernie "Don't weep, understand (Spinoza)"
Posts: 504 Joined: 19-04-06
14 June, 2008 - 17:43

Catch

Thanks for setting up this thread. The way that drivers from other companies are showing their solidarity is very interesting. It is hard to tell from the reports whether drivers are joining in the strike or respecting picket lines but there is clearly something important taking place as this guardian Guardian reports suggests:

Quote:
Last night striking drivers at the Stanlow refinery in Cheshire were joined by about 15 BP drivers who refused to start work.

In Plymouth, union leaders said the strike action had been joined by drivers from every company and fuel supplies in Devon and Cornwall could start to run dry by tonight. Up to 25% of BP's petrol deliveries are believed to have been impeded, and some drivers for Wincanton, a firm which distributes fuel to 3,700 Total and Chevron filling stations, have refused to work out of solidarity with the strikers.

The Wincanton drivers joined Shell drivers in protests at Cardiff, Plymouth and Avonmouth, leaving tankers stranded behind picket lines. Dave Turner, a company spokesman, said: "The company recognises that it may become affected by knock-on industrial action at fuel terminals."

This solidarity between workers from different firms is an expression of the wider international phenomena of growing active solidarity been shown by workers.

martinh "Wears loud shirts for the poor & oppressed"
Posts: 845 Joined: 08-03-06 Location: South East London
14 June, 2008 - 17:52

If all drivers have been outsourced and lost out in the same way, it may be that the drivers are planning on taking other companies on one by one once they've won at Shell. Good timing as well with all the petrol price panic,

Martin

ernie "Don't weep, understand (Spinoza)"
Posts: 504 Joined: 19-04-06
15 June, 2008 - 17:06

Taking on the companies one by one places the workers on a hidding to nothing because that means remaining imprisoned in the idea of taking on ones own boss, rather than seeing the need to a sector and class wide struggle. The central point about the others drivers joining in the strike is that it is the first steps in spreading out the struggle and this places the unions and the bosses on the back foot. The two companies involved can take on their own workers if they can keep them isolated and defeat them, but with other drivers being involved they cannot isolate them.

martinh "Wears loud shirts for the poor & oppressed"
Posts: 845 Joined: 08-03-06 Location: South East London
15 June, 2008 - 21:13

Ernie,

I agree that it needs to be sectoral rather than one company at a time and it needs to be spread. I was speculating as to whether the drivers had also thought along these lines. It may be that Shell is where they are strongest and they are starting there - after all they have to start somewhere.

I don't have any first hand info on this - I wish I did. Does anyone here?

Regards,

Martin

Alan "Getting drunk, playing punk on a stylophone"
Posts: 5056 Joined: 28-09-04 Location: Mexico City
16 June, 2008 - 15:34

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/tayside_and_central/7456413.stm

BBC wrote:
Despite the action being originally limited to Shell tanker drivers, no fuel has left any of the sites in Scotland as drivers from other distribution firms refused to cross the picket line.

....

The action came after 11 drivers employed by Scottish Fuels were reportedly suspended for refusing to cross the picket line.

baboon
Posts: 520 Joined: 29-07-05
16 June, 2008 - 15:41

I saw a headline somewhere that 11,000 train drivers were on strike?

Some info from memory on "outsourcing":
It must of been about 15 years ago that Shell (and other companies, including ICI) outsourced their drivers to smaller companies. I think that some of these smaller companies were the biggest owner-drivers who made their money and built up their fleets from the dough they earned during and after the miners' strike (ie, a small minority within a minority of owner-drivers). That is these smaller employers were specifically set up for this purpose.
I remember talking to drivers at the time (c 2003) who were made redundant (certainly ICI and I think Shell was the same) one day and re-employed the next - or finished the Friday and re-started the Monday. The question was "downsourcing" rather than outsourcing. The unions "negotiated" and set up the deals recommending the drivers with the incentive of redundancy payments. some drivers I talked to got tens of thousands in redundancy and no break in work.
It seemed too good to be true and of course it was. Not only were hourly rates greatly inferior (plain and overtime) but everything else as well: holiday pay, sickness pay (if at all), pensions, etc.
The effects of the sweetener of redundancy pay has long worn off. Also one of the effects of such was that it split the older drivers for whom it was a "good" deal, from the younger ones. The reality of the company/union stitch up has long been clear though the workers have yet to see the role of the unions (ever changing). In the meantime, the same unions that implemented these measures in early 2000 are now pleading for Shell to do a deal with the workers in "the national interest".

ernie "Don't weep, understand (Spinoza)"
Posts: 504 Joined: 19-04-06
16 June, 2008 - 18:18

Alan

Very interesting link and underlines that this struggle is an important struggle, because of the solidarity that it is expressing. The planned meeting this week of unions from different supply companies is an expression of the concern the unions must have about this struggle spreading. A concern expressed in the Guardian today

Quote:
The move comes after the union said it had received allegations of intimidation of non-Shell drivers who have supported the striking drivers, who began their action on Friday. Industry insiders have privately admitted their greatest concern is that the dispute by Shell drivers will spread.

[url=Enter URL here]http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jun/16/oil.transport

We can be certain that there are more solidarity actions going on than those reported

ernie "Don't weep, understand (Spinoza)"
Posts: 504 Joined: 19-04-06
16 June, 2008 - 18:25

Just watched channel 4 news no mention of the situation in Scotland. Not seen any other news programs so far, but if this is the usual coverage it shows that there is a real concern about the impact of this solidarity.

catch "unpractical[sic] and blinkered"
Posts: 9926 Joined: 07-02-06 Location: London
16 June, 2008 - 20:51

Heard on the radio that talks broke down and there could be a new strike on Friday.

Django
Posts: 184 Joined: 18-01-08 Location: Manchester
17 June, 2008 - 08:28
Quote:
But a potential problem arose last night at Grangemouth oil refinery, when union officials said around a dozen tanker drivers were suspended by Scottish Fuels, the largest independent oil supplier in Scotland, after they refused to cross picket lines. No one from Scottish Fuels was available for comment last night.

Tanker drivers from other haulage firms have refused to cross picket lines at 14 terminals and depots throughout the UK in solidarity with the 640 Shell drivers.

Government sources confirmed there had been an "escalation of trouble" at Grangemouth, which was temporarily shut down in April over a dispute about pensions, but said the situation had been resolved and deliveries would resume as normal.

But one negotiator said the Grangemouth dispute had complicated the talks of Shell tanker drivers. He said punitive action by companies against their tanker drivers was irresponsible and could prompt the Shell dispute to "spiral" into a more widespread issue.

Representatives of several thousand UK petrol tanker drivers will convene an emergency meeting tomorrow to discuss the crisis, including allegations of intimidation of non-Shell tanker drivers

Grauniad

What is this meeting? Cross-union?

ftony "crews are for boats"
Posts: 3651 Joined: 26-05-04 Location: East London
17 June, 2008 - 09:52
Django wrote:
Cross-union?

hopefully. cross-union mutual aid will be the best way to hit back hard enough.

baboon
Posts: 520 Joined: 29-07-05
17 June, 2008 - 16:52

One observation from looking at TV news bulletins of rigs turning back from the picket lines and being applauded by the strikers, is the lack of signage on their barrels. This could be - could be - single owner-drivers turning around. If so, this is not an element that the TV news programme would report on.

Spikymike
Posts: 204 Joined: 06-01-07
17 June, 2008 - 20:22

Settlement just announced - to go to ballot - don't know the terms yet or what this means for other company drivers.

catch "unpractical[sic] and blinkered"
Posts: 9926 Joined: 07-02-06 Location: London
21 June, 2008 - 22:25

http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/06/21/Settlement_reached_in_British_oil_strike/UPI-24791214076090/

14% over two years. 9% this year, 5% next.

Alf "Fraternisation across all boundaries"
Posts: 1411 Joined: 06-07-05
9 July, 2008 - 22:20

http://en.internationalism.org/wr/316/tanker-strike

Oil tanker drivers’ strike: Solidarity fuels the struggle

At the beginning of June, 641 Shell tanker drivers struck for four days to increase their pay levels. This strike occupied the media headlines for several days, and some petrol stations ran out of fuel. It was settled with a 14% increase over two years (9% this year and 5% next). The Unite union and media made a lot of noise about the size of this award but it was only 0.7% more than the original offer (7.3% this year and 6% next). This strike, though only involving a few hundred workers and being resolved quickly, was an important expression of the developing wave of class struggle.

From the beginning of the strike workers from other haulage firms expressed their solidarity though respecting the picket lines or joining in their protests "Last night striking drivers at the Stanlow refinery in Cheshire were joined by about 15 BP drivers who refused to start work.

In Plymouth, union leaders said the strike action had been joined by drivers from every company and fuel supplies in Devon and Cornwall could start to run dry by tonight. Up to 25% of BP's petrol deliveries are believed to have been impeded, and some drivers for Wincanton, a firm which distributes fuel to 3,700 Total and Chevron filling stations, have refused to work out of solidarity with the strikers.

The Wincanton (a large haulage firm) drivers joined Shell drivers in protests at Cardiff, Plymouth and Avonmouth, leaving tankers stranded behind picket lines." (The Guardian, 14.6.08).

This solidarity took on a new dimension on the third day of the strike (16th June), when workers from other haulage firms joined the Shell workers picketing the Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland in protest at the suspension of 11 Scottish Fuel drivers for refusing to cross picket lines. This was potentially a very explosive situation, given that the struggle was taking on a demand beyond those of the Shell tanker drivers - the defence of workers from Scottish Fuels. A demand that if not resolved could have drawn in more and more drivers and potentially other workers into the struggle. The Grangemouth refinery workers had struck in April over pensions, the first strike for 73 years and would have been aware of what was happening at the gates. Not surprisingly the bosses and unions moved rapidly to stop this by reinstating the suspended workers. Unite dismissed the workers' determined defence of their comrades as a "misunderstanding". For the working class it was an example of the power of proletarian solidarity.

It should not be forgotten that such action is illegal, as was that by the Wincanton and other workers who joined the struggle. However, we did not hear a word about this in the media. Why? They did not want to highlight the fact these workers were not only showing solidarity but also were not intimidated by laws brought in to stop such expressions of solidarity. Such defiance could inspire other workers.

So-called independent drivers, those with their own rigs or hired as sub-contractors, also showed solidarity by not crossing picket lines. This was no easy action for them because they could lose money, possibly contracts and future sub-contracting work. Most of these drivers are former employed drivers or see no real difference between themselves and Shell and other drivers, and were willing to put solidarity first, despite the risks.

This solidarity by other workers meant that Unite was not able to keep the Shell drivers isolated from the rest of the class with their ‘own' demands against ‘their' boss. Instead other drivers saw the Shell drivers' strike as part of their common struggle because they are under the same attacks. It also threatened to explode into wider solidarity movements as the situation at Grangemouth showed. Thus, despite the unions and bosses stitching together a deal little different to the one the workers had rejected, the Shell and other workers came away from the struggle with a greater sense of their own ability to struggle and above all of the importance of solidarity. In this sense it was an invaluable gain for the whole working class. Phil 4.7.08