LONDON - The government urged the public on Tuesday to avoid panic buying of fuel after tanker drivers threatened a strike at Shell petrol stations across the country.
"We want the public to continue to buy as normal so as to avoid creating problems that might otherwise not exist," a spokesman for Prime Minister Gordon Brown said.
"We do not believe that any strike action is justified because that would disproportionately impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people in the country not involved in this dispute."
The government activated a "memorandum of understanding" with the fuel industry last Friday that would ease anti-competition rules to help ensure supplies remained available in the event of a strike, the spokesman said.
That means companies would be allowed to discuss their inventories with each other.
About 500 tanker drivers who supply Shell petrol stations are threatening to strike for four days from Friday over pay.
Shell accounts for about 10 percent of British petrol stations, but the authorities fear panic buying could spread shortages to other stations.
The Shell tanker drivers work for two independent haulage firms. But their union, Unite, blames Shell for putting pressure on their employers to keep down their pay.
"Only Shell sets the terms of this contract and only it can solve this dispute," Unite Assistant General Secretary Len McCluskey of their union said in a statement.
"This is one of the most profitable companies on earth and it now needs to provide the financial flexibility to avert this dispute."
Shell said it was doing what it could to avoid a strike.
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