Hopes rise of averting fuel strike A new set of proposals could head off a threatened strike by fuel tanker drivers. The Unite union has been holding talks throughout the week with officials from six distribution companies under the chairmanship of the conciliation service Acas. Peter Harwood, Acas chief conciliator said: "Over the past fortnight the six contractors have met with the Unite trade union through the Acas conciliation service. Acas has been shuttling between the parties and the process has been a challenging one but we are pleased to announce that a set of proposals have been reached. As you would expect, the details of the proposals are confidential until the parties report back to their respective organisations. After that the details may be disclosed by the parties themselves. Unite had been given an extension to the deadline for declaring strike action so that peace talks could continue. Its officials will now meet next week to decide whether to accept the latest proposals. The dispute, which had been brewing for more than a year, flared up last month when Unite announced that workers in five firms had voted to strike. That led to panic-buying by motorists after the Government advised them to top up their tanks in case of a strike.