Turners (Soham) is downplaying union claims that a threatened strike by its fuel tanker drivers at Grangemouth oil refinery will cause airport disruption and say the company cannot meet the drivers’ pay demands, as the division is loss making.
This is the latest development in an escalating dispute which centres around the company’s recent pay offer to the drivers of 1%.
The union Unite has slammed the offer as “miserly”, pointing to the company’s most recent annual results, which reveal a £51m profit for the year to 31 December 2023.
The Turners (Soham) Grangemouth oil refinery drivers work on two contracts which provide fuel services for major aviation companies, including Jet 2, easyJet and Emirates operating at Edinburgh, Glasgow and Newcastle airports.
The drivers are now being balloted on strike action. The ballot closes on 4 September and strike action could begin from mid-September.
The union is warning any strike action could cause disruption to airline companies that the company serves.
However, Turners (Soham) is standing firm on its offer this week on the grounds that the Grangemouth division is loss making and that the drivers current terms are competitive in the market.
A spokesman for the company said: “Unfortunately, we are not able to pay higher wage increases this year on the fuel operation in Scotland because the operation is loss-making.
“Prior years have seen higher wage awards which haven’t been fully recoverable from the market.
“We believe the drivers’ terms are strong against competitors and we cannot increase our offer.
“We have explained the position to the driver workforce, and it is for them to decide their course of action.”
The spokesman said that Turners (Soham) is bound by market rates and added that the company did not believe a strike would have any immediate consequences on the airports or garages it serves.
He said: “We will always try to service our customers but respect that our customers too have a commercial business to manage, and they cannot pay us more than their market allows.
“We don’t think any action taken will have immediate impact on airports or garages, they will increase supply from others.We hope our drivers can see the overall position and decide to accept our offer.
