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A 'no fuel' sign outside a Shell petrol station near Clapham, South London today. Alamy Stock Photo

Calls to prioritise key workers in UK fuel crisis

Fuel shortages at filling stations are now having a knock-on effect across several sectors.

THE UK GOVERNMENT has faced calls for nurses, police, teachers and other key workers to be given priority at petrol pumps today, as the army was put on standby to ease a fuel supply crisis.

Filling stations across the country have seen long, snaking queues of frustrated and angry motorists concerned that a shortage of tanker drivers could lead to pumps running dry.

But four days of panic-buying, even as the government insisted there was no shortage of fuel stocks, has left some frontline public sector workers unable to get to work.

Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said there were “tentative signs of stabilisation”, as filling stations were restocked, although that has not yet shortened queues.

But he blamed the public for panic-buying and the pandemic, which prevented 30,000 heavy goods vehicle drivers being tested, for the issue.

“Once we all return to our normal buying habits… the quicker we can get back to normality,” he told Sky News.

The British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing, however, said “urgent action” was still required, as healthcare staff were increasingly unable to travel.

“We can’t be waiting in queues for two or three hours for petrol or diesel when we have patients to see,” BMA deputy chairman David Wrigley told Times Radio.

Britain’s biggest public sector workers’ union, Unison, called for the government to trigger emergency powers, as some local authorities mulled unilaterally declaring a major incident to give priority to essential staff.

Paramedic Jennifer Ward, 21, said she had to try five different garages in Norfolk, eastern England, before she could fill up her ambulance.

“We work a stressful job and we don’t need any added anxiety,” she told the Daily Mail.

‘Get a grip’

The government maintains that a lack of tanker drivers to deliver fuel and unprecedented demand is behind the crisis, and the situation was likely to ease in the coming days.

Despite repeated denials throughout the day, Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced late yesterday that troops had been put on alert to deploy if required.

The Sun newspaper, normally supportive of Johnson, said the mixed messaging was undermining public confidence, and accused the government of being “asleep at the wheel”.

“Is anyone actually in charge in Downing Street?” it asked in an editorial. “Get a grip on it, PM. Public patience is close to breaking point.”

Fuel shortages at filling stations are now having a knock-on effect across several sectors.

Dozens of non-league football matches were called off because players and officials have been unable to travel, and some schools said online lessons could return.

The head of the NASUWT teaching union, Patrick Roach, said public transport was “simply not an option” for many teachers, as their schools could only be reached by car.

Chair of the National Courier and Despatch Association David Brown told AFP his drivers were unable to commit to some longer journeys as they were “struggling to find fuel”.

‘Utter incompetence’

Britain was contending with a shortage of truckers even before the shortfalls in tanker drivers began to bite, with the resulting empty supermarket shelves and delivery delays stoking fears of a lack of food and toys for Christmas.

The British Meat Processors Association has said fears the panic-buying of fuel could make existing supply chain problems to supermarkets worse and cause further shortages.

The government insists Europe is facing the same problem and has eased its post-Brexit immigration rules for three months in the hope of enticing foreign truckers back.

But critics say that is unlikely to help, blaming the country’s departure from the EU that took full effect in January, combined with the pandemic, and a failure to replace the thousands of overseas drivers who left.

The main opposition Labour party’s home affairs spokesman, Nick Thomas-Symonds, accused the government of “utter incompetence” and blamed it on its “handling of Brexit”.

“The blame lies squarely with them, it lies with no-one else,” he added.

© AFP 2021

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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
    Favourite Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Aug 31st 2016, 7:56 AM

    I have a Fitbit Surge, great product. I wish them and their new employees well in Dublin HQ.

    145
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    Mute Eugene Walsh
    Favourite Eugene Walsh
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    Aug 31st 2016, 11:46 AM

    There will be an actual office now, won’t there?

    24
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    Mute Kieran O'Sullivan
    Favourite Kieran O'Sullivan
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    Aug 31st 2016, 12:27 PM

    @Euegene
    No it will be a brass plate like the rest of the multinationals who employ 187,000 and pay 6 billion in wages.

    25
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    Mute Marcas Ó Callanáin
    Favourite Marcas Ó Callanáin
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    Aug 31st 2016, 12:44 PM

    I have the Fitbit Charge, got it at Christmas 2014. After about a year, it was falling apart and wasn’t fit for purpose. I contacted their Customer Support and was posted out a new one, no questions asked. They didn’t even ask to look at the old one. Whilst I wasn’t happy about the watch being a bit sub-standard, their Customer Support was as good as I have ever received.

    28
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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
    Favourite Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Aug 31st 2016, 1:11 PM

    I got the Fitness Surge in Jan 2016 and I have no issues with the strap.

    3
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    Mute ⚡ SCO Electrical ⚡
    Favourite ⚡ SCO Electrical ⚡
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    Aug 31st 2016, 7:55 AM

    Wonder when we’ll hear about this tax mess

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    Mute Eoin Dixon Murphy
    Favourite Eoin Dixon Murphy
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:02 AM

    Great news!

    44
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    Mute NO 2 FF/FG/LAB
    Favourite NO 2 FF/FG/LAB
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    Aug 31st 2016, 7:57 AM

    Another country to open its worldwide operations in Ireland despite countries like the UAE having an effective rate of 0%. This proves even if Ireland did collect 13 billion it’s likely all 5,500 irish apple jobs would be here to stay.

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    Mute Fergus Fring
    Favourite Fergus Fring
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:15 AM

    The only thing your statement proves is your utter cluelessness.

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    Mute Dexter Carty
    Favourite Dexter Carty
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    Aug 31st 2016, 9:21 AM

    What an amazing piece of well founded research your present

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    Mute David Dunne
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    Aug 31st 2016, 9:31 AM

    Fergus government stooly

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    Mute Meanderingsz
    Favourite Meanderingsz
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    Aug 31st 2016, 10:12 AM

    i think it proves nothing of the sort. Everybody of any standing, here or abroad knows why these companies are in ireland, can we please stop this delusion. Ireland is a tax avoidance country, its deliberate and these companies take advantage of this – which is, and has always been the aim of the government.

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    Mute Shane Corry
    Favourite Shane Corry
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    Aug 31st 2016, 9:52 AM

    This doesn’t actually seem to be in any way recent as the article suggests.

    According to LinkedIn, Fitbit have 35 employees already based in Ireland, some going back as far as February / March of this year.

    28
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    Mute Seosamh Púinse
    Favourite Seosamh Púinse
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:49 AM

    Tax free I suppose

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    Mute Max Power
    Favourite Max Power
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:30 AM

    No word on where people can apply for a job. Is it a phantom company

    15
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    Mute Shane Corry
    Favourite Shane Corry
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    Aug 31st 2016, 9:41 AM

    If they are opening it today they are hardly going to be hiring already..

    Have to be at least 2-3 weeks of setup and if they are planning on hiring 40-50 people in 2.5 months then they are going to have to have good HR/interview processes in place for the whole thing

    15
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    Mute Liam Treacy
    Favourite Liam Treacy
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:15 AM

    Hope they develop a sports version giving HR etc.

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    Mute Proinsias Ó Foghlú
    Favourite Proinsias Ó Foghlú
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:28 AM

    The Fitbit Surge does heart rate, has GPS, can do cycling, running and automatically recognises many exercises!

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    Mute Bruce Wardrop
    Favourite Bruce Wardrop
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    Aug 31st 2016, 8:42 AM

    Check out their website – almost half of their products already do this…

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    Mute steve crowley
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    Aug 31st 2016, 11:01 AM

    Expensive at over 200 Euro though…

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    Mute E
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    Aug 31st 2016, 1:02 PM

    I know they’re here because of the young dynamic workforce, cutting edge tech and access to the “e-hub” of Europe..and nothing else, no other reason whatsoever,

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    Mute jerry curtin
    Favourite jerry curtin
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    Aug 31st 2016, 12:25 PM

    Ah sure, the jolly craicsters do not want Tax. Might as well

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    Mute Myles Fleming
    Favourite Myles Fleming
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    Aug 31st 2016, 9:01 PM

    I worked on the construction of their new offices in town and to say no expense was spared would be an understatement. So much so that the staff from San Franciscofranci

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