Osborne: Fuel crisis "caused by unions"

Comments

[lewis]

Oh come on - government ministers advise motorists to fill their tanks, causing shortages, and then blame the unions?

Considering that any strike is at least two weeks away, this was a stupid comment that led to a predictable outcome. The minister alone is reponsible and he should pay with his job as he is clearly not up to it.

[Alistair Thomas]

Oh come on, ministers simply aren't that powerful - most couldn't sell ice cream in a heat wave. The only reason that the public are panic buying is that they know from past, painful experience, even from this exact same group of workers, that no amount of national pain is too much to inflict in pursuit of their personal ends.

Strike action should be the last resort and yet it is the first tactic of militant unions like Unite to load the negotiations in their favour. If ACAS discussions with management had failed then I could understand and maybe even sympathise with ballots for industrial action; gradual, proportionate action that leaves the public out of it until the very last resort. Whatever happened to work to rule and overtime bans etc as first steps of discontent?

Union leaders would cancel Christmas if they thought it would serve their purpose. The public know this so when THE UNIONS threaten fuel supplies as they clearly have done then the public will take them seriously no matter what any minister says. I heard the minister say: "don't queue, just keep topped up when convenient, maybe fill a jerrycan for back up". Clearly the public are ignoring the minister and answering to a higher fear.

[It doesn't add up...]

Does anyone bother to analyse the logistics of maximising the stocks of fuel downstream of delivery depots by the time the strike might begin? That requires motorists to run with fuller tanks, and for petrol stations to be replenished before the strike starts. That means extra sales and deliveries while the drivers are still working to cover for when they might not be.

Of course, if we ignored all this until the strike is formally announced then the panic buying at that stage would empty the petrol stations just in time for the strike to start, maximising its effectiveness.

[Dave Hollins MBA]

The stupidity of Osborne seems to know no bounds.

[Pauline Kennedy]

This was done to turn the public against the Unions.
Extra money with fuel tax to make figures look good.
Grow a pair Osborne
A. Anybody
B. But the Government
C. Con-dems
This Country is not stupid

[Frank Goddard]

Ha Ha Lewis and you others who believe it was the goverment fault.Get your timings right eh!The unions announced on the Monday strike ballots forwarded to the drivers,and by Tuesday they had accepted,funny that some members did not receive their ballot papers at all?
By Wednesday morning (early) long before Maude spoke about "gerry" cans,there was not a garage in my area that was open for petrol sales??Osborne was right it was the unions who created the panic buying.
English pensioner.....