Your report (Fuel tanker drivers to resume strike talks, 9 April) is not quite right on the timescale for the ticking clock on industrial action. Precedent has been set by employers, like Royal Mail, agreeing to extend the period in which industrial action must be triggered. Precedent also exists, again exemplified by Royal Mail, to allow the relevant union to stage a very short non-disruptive strike of 15 minutes in order to keep the mandate live. If either option was exercised, the negotiations to resolve the dispute would have that bit longer to deal with what is quite a complex issue, namely, establishing a bargaining forum for the sector along with its remit. Whether the distribution companies take either of these options will be a measure of their desire to resolve the dispute through compromise and negotiation.
Professor Gregor Gall
University of Hertfordshire
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