Fuel tankers strike: Government holds emergency talks Published on Wednesday 28 March 2012 13:05 EMERGENCY talks are being held by the coalition government today to discuss the threatened strike by petrol tanker drivers. There could be walkouts over the Easter weekend when millions take to the roads. It comes after workers in five of seven companies involved in the row over terms and conditions and safety standards have voted in favour of industrial action. Conciliation service Acas has invited unions and oil companies to talks in a bid to prevent a strike. Today's gathering of ministers is taking place in the Cabinet Office's briefing room A - known from its initials as Cobra - but Downing Street stressed that it was not a meeting of the Cobra committee which convenes in emergency situations to consider contingency plans. However, the PM's decision to chair this afternoon's meeting - following a similar gathering yesterday of ministers from departments including transport, energy and defence chaired by Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude - is an indication of his desire to show leadership on the issue. Plans have already been announced to train military personnel to take the place of striking drivers behind the wheel of commercial tankers. And the Government has been accused of encouraging motorists to hoard fuel, after a Downing Street spokeswoman said it was "prudent" for businesses and individuals who need their vehicles for work to make "contingency plans" in case of shortages. A Labour spokesman said it was "the height of irresponsibility for Downing Street to give the impression that people should be panic-buying." Energy Secretary Ed Davey has written to Unite asking the union to get round the table with the haulage companies, and suggesting the use of the resolution body. Mr Davey also asked Acas to approach both parties to try to achieve a "negotiated settlement." An Acas spokesman said: "We welcome the minister's suggestion about the parties responding positively to an invitation to come in to Acas. We are establishing contact with all the parties involved in this dispute and will be looking to see whether we can enable an Acas process to allow the possibility of some form of dialogue to start. Of course, take-up of Acas conciliation is voluntary and the parties themselves will determine whether they wish to respond positively to our invitation. Mr Maude briefed senior ministers on the Government's preparations for a dispute at yesterday's Cabinet meeting. He said the Government had "learnt the lessons" of the previous disruption to petrol supplies in 2000, when pumps ran dry around the country, and was putting plans in place to keep Britain moving, but acknowledged that there was still "more work to be done." Labour leader Ed Miliband said a strike should be avoided "at all costs" and urged union and company chiefs to get round the table and negotiate. Unite - which represents around 2,000 drivers who deliver fuel to Shell and Esso garages as well as supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's, covering 90% of the UK's forecourts - wrote to Mr Davey setting out its case for minimum standards in the industry, covering pay, hours, holiday and redundancy arrangements. The Government can help avoid confrontation by bringing to the table all the stakeholders in the downstream oil distribution sector - employers, oil companies, retailers and the trade union with an agreement to establish minimum standards in a timely fashion. In his response, Mr Davey stressed that the Government did not intervene in disputes, and said the HSE and Department for Transport believed current health and safety standards were "proportionate," according to aides. However, ministers were taking Unite's concerns on health and safety "seriously."