Shell tanker drivers resolve pay dispute

A four-day strike by fuel tanker drivers employed by Hoyer and Suckling on the Shell contract led to the successful conclusion of pay talks on 17 June and the suspension of action (including an overtime ban) as members of general union Unite were balloted on the offer.

Details had not been made public when Labour Research went to press but, on the eve of the strike, the union pointed out that drivers at these contracted-out operations were on a basic wage of £32,000 for a 48-hour week. This is the approximate amount earned by drivers directly employed by Shell for a 37-hour week in 1992 (the employer’s figure of £36,500 included “considerable amounts of overtime”).