BRITISH TRANSPORT STRIKE

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25084, 16 January 1947, Page 7

BRITISH TRANSPORT STRIKE

Hope Of Agreement To Resume Work MORE MEN IDLE IN LONDON AND PROVINCES (N.Z. Press Association—-Copyright) (ReC ’ IX , P T. -) . LONDON, January 15. strikers 8 to U agree°h> return S f’ > ' e to . get the London transport secrftarv ‘of t° Work ’ said Mr Arthur Deakin. general secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ sSssSi h’s?." ;^x rt ' d oi y .“ abattoirs have walked Altogether? aboutWOO in!

So far no troops have been brought in on the Mersevsidc but the strikers claim that if the troops do intervene they have been assured that the Liverpool dockers will stop work. About Soadtg at S h Carg ° eS ° f eggS and butter ’ are

. . In i! .? d< ”l ? J IC po ? ers at the Spitalfields vegetable market walked out to-day and more than 1000 fish porters at Billingsgate did not start work, making about 8000 market porters from the cities meat, fish, fruit, and provision markets striking ni protest against the use of troops to distribute supplies. Soldiers to-day again distributed foodstuffs.

The Road Haulage Strikers’ Committee has issued a statement requesting all workers to remain at work if they are not directly involved in the dispute, but to do everything in their power to stop black-leg labour. The committee explained that “black-leg labour” did not refer to the use of troops.

The committee added: “We trust, after our meetings to-morrow, that we sMall have £ome concrete proposals to lay before members in the dispute.” Road haulage industry employers and officials of the Transport and General Workers’ Union have agreed to the constitution of a National Joint Industrial Council, a voluntary collective bargaining machine, which will run parallel with the present Wages Board. The council will meet immediately the strikers resume work. If the men return on Thursday the council is prepared to meet the same afternoon for free negotiation on any points the unions like to put forward.

Only 2000 of London’s 24,000 dockers are at present involved in the strike. The representatives of 300 slaughterhouse men decided to join in the strike.

In the Manchester district 200 drivers employed by various cartage firms have left their trucks, but so far the stoppage has not assumed serious proportions.

Considerable support is being given the London strikers at Bristol, where 3000 drivers and their mates have refused work The roads are picketed, and about 300 lorries from London are stranded at the port. The strike has been slow in spreading on the Medway where about 1500 men are now reported to be involved. There has been a series of smaller sympathy strikes in other parts of the provinces, but so far these concern only drivers. The dispute has not so far spread to dockers outside London, but it is considered that there is a grave danger that it may do so.