Britain: Army on Standby for Fuel Truckers Strike
March 29th, 2012Via: Reuters:
The British government laid plans on Tuesday to cope with possible fuel shortages if a strike by tanker drivers goes ahead, lining up the army to help and warning businesses and the public to make preparations.
Truckers voted on Monday to take strike action that union officials said could deplete petrol stocks within two days, against a backdrop of tough austerity measures to tackle a record peacetime public budget gap.
Hauliers and farmers protesting high fuel taxes brought much of the country to a standstill in 2000 when they blockaded oil refineries and petrol distribution centres.
Anxious to avoid a repeat that could hit an ailing economy and would embarrass the country in the run-up to July’s Olympic Games, the government is drafting contingency plans to deploy the army on Britain’s streets for the first time in almost a decade.
Ministers are considering asking businesses to lend them tankers to be driven by soldiers, who would need eight days’ training to be ready, as well as getting more drivers.
