Representatives of associations of doctors, teachers and other essential workers called on the British government on Tuesday (28) to act to allow refueling, after several days of fuel shortages caused by mass buying of drivers.
“We cannot stand in line for two or three hours when we have patients to see,” British Medical Association Vice President David Wrigley told Sky News, urging authorities to take action on Tuesday.
Organizations of doctors, nurses and prison staff are demanding that essential workers have priority access to gas stations, as Britons, worried about gas shortages, have rushed to refuel in recent days, leaving many without fuel.
“Let essential workers resume first,” The Mirror headline Tuesday, while The Sun criticized Boris Johnson’s chief executive for “chaos” and “confusion”.
Unison, a large organization representing the public sector, demanded that the government should “action” in the face of the fuel crisis and use emergency powers to designate specific service stations for use by workers in key sectors.
For several days, many drivers caused massive traffic jams at gas stations. According to the government, it was a panic movement after some distributors announced the closure of pumps due to the lack of truck drivers to transport fuel from storage stations.
In response to the crisis, the government on Monday evening asked the military to remain on standby to intervene “if necessary, to stabilize the fuel supply.”
Earlier, it announced a temporary relaxation of post-Brexit immigration regulations to attract more foreign truck drivers.
The shortage of truck drivers started months ago, spurred by the pandemic and Brexit.
The problem also affects the supply of supermarkets, cafeterias and bars, among others, which are reporting delivery delays and shortages of some products.
According to opposition Labor MP Nick Thomas Symonds, the fuel crisis is due to the “complete incompetence” of the government and the “management of Brexit”.
