Importers Plan Action In London Dock Strike

Press, Volume C, Issue 29501, 1 May 1961, Page 14

Importers Plan Action In London Dock Strike

(AZ Preu Assn.—Copyright) LONDON, April 29. Traders were planning emergency action in the London dock strike, the “Daily Mail” said today. Nearly 20,000 tons of butter, meat, cheese, fruit and other perishables are held up by the unofficial strike of nearly 14,000 dock workers, and are in danger of rotting. Firms at the Smithfield and Covent Garden markets have set up a joint council to discuss way's of getting their cargoes out of the docks.

A Dutch air charter company is standing by to start a meat airlift from Rotterdam on Monday. The "Daily Telegraph” said a British charter company had been asked to stand by to fly food from the Continent to Britain should the rtrike continue. A statement by fruit and vegetable ’"rmpociers said ms*y hundreds of' thousands of pounds' worth of highlypertehable foodstuffs was involved, and as' a 13m resort, they might take their own fleets of lorries into the docks.

Telegrams were sent to the Prime Minister (Mr Macmillan) and the Ministers of Labour and Agriculture asking permission to remove goods from the docks under emergency powers A spokesman for the Joitit Import Trade Committee warned TWxt-fjmit and vegetable prices m'itfht-.rise next week tf the strike conthtugd.’ The strike, which startelF

on Monday, is costing the industry £1,000,000 a day, the “Daily Mail” said. Seventy ships are held up. The dockers struck over the employment by a small firm of six of its own employees to unload cargoes. The firm had complained that registered dock workers were too slow on the job. The firm’s move had the approval of the Dock Labour Board. The Transport and General Workers’ Union has ordered the men back to work but there has been no sign of a break in the strike. The Transport and General Workers’ Union has called an official meeting of dockers for tomorrow morning—half an hour before a mass meeting of the unofficial strikers. A meeting of 300 dockers at the Surrey docks, London, today, heard a call from unofficial strike leaders to come out in support of the rest of the London Docks but no decision was taken at the meet-