SCOTLAND'S petrol supplies are under threat from a bitter industrial dispute

Hundreds of drivers working for Hoyer UK – a company that delivers fuel from Grangemouth to filling stations across Scotland - are considering strike action.

The action by fuel tanker drivers would be aimed at halting Hoyer's petrol deliveries from the site.

Hoyer also delivers fuel to Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Newcastle Airports from Grangemouth.

Any strike would also put those supplies at risk.

The dispute centres around changes to the terms and conditions of fuel tanker drivers.

Unite the union members have lodged a formal dispute with Hoyer, over a deal that it says will cut drivers' annual pay from over £40,000 to £28,000.

The firm has been given 14 days to hold talks with the union, before it calls a ballot on industrial action.

A Unite source said more than 200 drivers were ready to strike.

The union insider said any industrial action would aim to halt all deliveries.

However, the dispute could spread to other fuel transporters from Grangemouth, due to discontent among drivers about working conditions, it was claimed.

Grangemouth owner Ineos is not directly in dispute with the union.

However, the multinational firm's operation near Falkirk would face major disruption.

"The offer to drivers can only be described as an insult," the Unite source said.

"We're in dispute now, but there's a real chance of strike action that would spread to other contractors and cause major disruption.

"It would also have real consequences for Ineos as it's petrol would no longer be delivered.

"This would have a huge impact."

The dispute comes nearly five years after industrial action at Grangemouth led to a threat by Ineos to close the site completely.

In October 2013, the company's chairman and founder Jim Ratcliffe announced the complex would be closed with the loss of about 800 jobs.

The decision was later reversed after workers agreed to a survival plan which included a three-year pay freeze.

The Sunday Herald approached Hoyer and Ineos for a comment about the dispute.