Unite, which represents 2,000 tanker drivers, believes it must meet the early evening cut-off to keep its strike mandate alive
Talks to resolve the fuel tanker drivers' dispute enter a crucial phase on Friday with the Unite trade union facing a 5pm deadline to declare dates for industrial action.
Unite, which represents 2,000 tanker drivers, believes it must meet the early evening cut-off to keep its strike mandate alive. Without a valid mandate, Unite will have to hold a new strike ballot before it can take industrial action. One option is to set a date for action that will cause minimal disruption.
Another scenario would involve asking the fuel distributors to extend the mandate, which would allow Unite to continue negotiations without the ticking clock of industrial action. Legally, Unite must take strike action by 23 April, but it must also give seven days' notice of walkouts, which effectively brings forward the setting of strike dates by a further week. The seven-day rule pointed to a deadline of next Monday, but Unite has been advised that notice must be given at 5pm in order to be certain of complying with the 1992 Trade Union and Labour Relations Act.
Over the past three years several unions have cancelled strike plans after companies argued successfully in the high court that the 1992 act had been breached.
A further option for avoiding the 5pm deadline is to reach a peace deal, but the conciliation service Acas, which has been overseeing talks since last week, described the discussions as a "complex process". Unite is in dispute with seven fuel distributors over safety and training standards. Unite members have voted for strikes at five of the seven. The distributors are adamant that national wage bargaining is not on the table, but Unite is understood to be seeking a floor on pay as well.