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Industrial union: Gas stations may run out of fuel due to strikes

According to Neste, the strikes are causing disruptions to fuel distribution, but efforts are being made to ensure critical deliveries.

Updated 6.3. 17:34 A customer at a gas station gas tank. According to the industrial association, the gas station stocks are not enough for two weeks. Distribution will be suspended on Monday when the strikes begin. Photo: Heikki Saukkomaa / Lehtikuva Open in the Yle app Fuel will probably run out at some gas stations during the strikes, estimates Turja Lehtonen, vice president of the Finnish Confederation of Finnish Industries. There can also be a shortage of fuel at airports.

According to Lehtonen, the gas station stocks are not enough for two weeks.

• My assessment is that there will be gas stations that run out of fuel. But how much and where, I can't say, Lehtonen tells Yle.

SAK announced on Wednesday the two-week long strikes, which will start next Monday. If the strikes take place, they will also stop Neste's refinery and fuel distribution.

Lehtonen thinks it is likely that the garage entrepreneurs will prepare for the rest of the week by filling their warehouses as much as possible. He doesn't go into estimating how quickly the gas pumps can be out of order.

• It depends, for example, on the utilization rate of the gas station and on how much the gas stations themselves prepare now that the matter has come to light. It may very well be that there is enough fuel at one station and not at another.

According to Lehtonen, however, the effects are likely to be seen most quickly at busy traffic stations, where a lot of people refuel anyway. The critical need for fuel is ensured. For example, the effects of the strike on the heating of private houses or the operation of hospitals will not last.

Neste: shutting down the refinery would cause risks

Neste also confirms that the strikes are causing disruption to fuel distribution. According to Neste, production at the Porvoo refinery would have to be reduced a few days after the strike started.

• This is due to the interruption of raw material deliveries and the filling up of product stocks. The refinery is not designed to be shut down during the winter months. Shutting down on such a short schedule would cause significant process, environmental and personal safety risks, Neste says in the press release.

St1's communication says that the strike may have an impact on the availability of fuel at individual stations.

• The situation is currently being assessed. It is not yet known how the strike will affect the regional distribution of fuel, says communications manager Tiia Lemmetti from St1.

Lemmetti urges you to follow St1's website for the most current situation.

Air traffic impacts are being mapped

Liikennepalvelukauppiaat ry CEO Jari Salonen says that the situation sounds challenging. So far, he does not have more detailed information about the content of the strike.

• Let's see what the strike will do. Let's hope that reason will be found.

Salonen points out that their association does not manage fuel transport.

According to Elina Suominen of Finavia's communications, in matters affecting air traffic, the situation will be mapped out with all the companies involved at the airport.

For example, around 1,500 companies and organizations operate in Helsinki-Vantaa, many of which are involved in ensuring the smoothness of air traffic.

Kansan Uutiset was the first to report on Teollisuusliitto's assessment.

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