The Transport and General Workers Union and BP have agreed to postpone the planned industrial action.
The five-day strike which was set to begin today, has been averted after lengthy talks that continued into the early hours of this morning (October 28, 2005). The issues raised were concerning the pension rights of former Exel employees who were recently transferred via TUPE into BP.
A national newspaper comments that the anger from tanker drivers was fuelled further by BP profits being around £2.5Bn for the three months to October. A Transport & General Workers’ Union spokesperson comments: “There’s enough money sloshing around BP to fund every employee’s retirement until age 95.”
Further discussions are due to take place on Tuesday 1st November. If the strike goes ahead, it is estimated that it will cripple deliveries to around 1,300 BP petrol stations.
