The Unite union and fuel distributors are expected to meet on Wednesday to resolve a dispute that has raised the threat of a strike by tanker drivers, and prompted widespread panic-buying of petrol and diesel last week. The situation on forecourts was returning to normal on Monday as fuel companies restocked petrol stations.
The talks come after the government was forced to defend its handling of the situation following fierce criticism.
Speaking to ITV's Daybreak, the assistant general secretary of Unite, Diana Holland, said: "Everybody involved on behalf of Unite, the trade union members, and the oil tanker drivers, is saying we want a negotiated settlement. That won't happen without all parties coming together.
"This industry used to be one run by the oil companies alone. Over the years it's been contracted out to other companies and the conditions and the terms were kept pretty solidly at the beginning. But over the years they have become eroded and eroded."
She added: "This is not a new issue. We have been alerting the government all the way along.
"The people that are on the best conditions, the best rates of pay and the best training – we want to keep that for them.
"We want to put a floor in, under which no one can fall. When the contract negotiations take place, we want the oil companies, the retailers, and the distribution companies to say no one will fall below this standard.
Representatives of fuel tanker companies will hold discussions with the conciliation service Acas on Monday over an agenda for the talks. If those discussions are successful, formal talks between the companies, Unite and fuel tanker drivers are pencilled in for the middle of the week.
Initial discussions are not expected to be face to face, in line with normal Acas procedures, but will be held with the parties in separate rooms in an attempt to maintain a positive atmosphere.
Hopes for an end to the dispute have been raised after a week in which panic over the threat of strikes led to petrol station closures, and a woman suffered severe burns while decanting petrol in her kitchen.
A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokesman said stock levels at filling stations are moving towards normal levels, with decreasing numbers of stations experiencing stock outs. He said there was "no urgency" to top up tanks with a strike over Easter having been ruled out.
Unite's driver members, who deliver fuel for 90% of the UK's petrol stations, cannot launch lightning strikes because of laws forbidding walkouts at less then seven days' notice.
Sources close to the talks said an agreed agenda was crucial, with fuel distributors adamant that introducing national pay bargaining was not an option for discussion. Tanker drivers want common standards for safety and training, and an industry forum to oversee those issues. Unite has submitted nine points of discussion to Acas.
On Sunday, William Hague, the foreign secretary and Conservative deputy leader, defended the government's role during the petrol scare. He said on the BBC's Andrew Marr Show: "I think my colleagues have done absolutely the right thing to urge people to take sensible precautions and I think they will be vindicated by events over the coming days and weeks."
