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Due to panic buying due to a shortage of tanker drivers, almost half of the 8,000 fuel pumps in the UK ran out of gasoline
Britain put its military on standby on Monday to help deal with the ongoing fuel crisis, as concerns about shortages of tanker drivers led to panic purchases that caused many of the country’s fuel pumps to dry up.
The U.S. Department of Commerce, Energy and Industrial Strategy said in a statement released late Monday: “A limited number of military tanker drivers will be in a state of preparation and deployed when necessary to further stabilize the fuel supply chain.”
Desperate motorists lined up in front of fuel pumps across the UK, emptied fuel tanks, lost their temper, and prompted the government to use emergency powers to give priority to health care and other essential workers.
The government stated that behind the crisis is the lack of tanker drivers to transport fuel and unprecedented demand.
If the crisis is not alleviated in the next few days, military drivers will receive specialized training before deployment.
“Although the fuel industry expects demand to return to normal levels in the next few days, we are correct in taking this wise precaution,” said Commerce Minister Kwasi Kwarteng.
He added: “If needed, deploying military personnel will provide additional capabilities to the supply chain as a temporary measure to help ease the pressure caused by the surge in local fuel demand.”
The government has taken drastic measures to tighten immigration policies after Brexit by offering short-term visa exemptions to foreign truck drivers to help bridge the gap.
Fuel operators, including Shell, BP and Esso, said that “the UK refineries have sufficient fuel” and demand is expected to return to normal levels within a few days, thus alleviating pressure.
“We will encourage everyone to buy fuel as usual,” they added in a joint statement.
However, the long queues outside the gas station even overnight have frustrated drivers and raised concerns about the impact of this on the wider economy.
“People are desperate. If I don’t have gas now, I can’t work anymore,” a driver, David Hart, told AFP. He lined up in a garage in London over the weekend but to no avail.
Unison, the largest public sector union in the UK, said that key staff including doctors, nurses, teachers and police should be given priority to enter instead of waiting in line.
“The government can now solve this problem by using emergency powers to designate gas stations for key workers,” said General Secretary Christina McAnea.
Medical institutions have stated that some medical staff have difficulty getting to work, and the school has warned that if teachers cannot reach the classroom, online teaching may resume.
The Gasoline Retailers Association stated that nearly half of the 8,000 fuel pumps in the UK ran out of gasoline on Sunday, blaming the problem on “panic buying, which is purely simple.”
Critics accuse the government of inaction in addressing the shortage of truck drivers after Britain’s departure from the European Union in January and the pandemic, causing many foreign truck drivers to leave the country.
In addition to fuel transportation, shortages have left supermarket shelves empty and raised concerns about the delivery of Christmas food and toys.
Olaf Scholz, the winner of the German weekend elections, linked these issues directly to Brexit and said that low wages in the industry may reduce the attractiveness of the job.
“We tried to persuade the British not to leave the union,” Scholz said.
This situation is reminiscent of the dark days of the 1970s, when energy supply problems caused the UK to implement a three-day work week and fuel rationing.
This is also reminiscent of the late 2000s, when people protesting high oil prices blocked the refinery, effectively bringing the country to a standstill for several weeks.
The government called for calmness and urged people to buy gasoline as usual.
The government, which campaigned to end free movement in Europe during Brexit, is relying on short-term visa exemptions to fill the gap for drivers, which it says is a European-wide problem.
The company said on Saturday that it will issue up to 10,500 temporary work visas to truck drivers and poultry workers from next month to December 24 to alleviate the chronic shortage of personnel.
Richard Griffith, chairman of the British Poultry Council, welcomed the move, but warned that it may be too late to avoid food shortages.
“The supply chain is not something that can be simply opened and closed, so the production plan is already in progress, and necessary cuts have been made due to the continuing labor shortage,” he added.
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