Dockers Back At Work In Britain

Press, Volume XC, Issue 27496, 2 November 1954, Page 13

Dockers Back At Work In Britain

(N.Z. Press Assoclation~-Copy right) (Rec. Il p.m.) LONDON, November 1. Derricks and cranes in London’s docks stirred to life early today as. dockers began to get the country’s overseas trade flowing again after their four weeks’ strike. Nearly 44,000 strikers returned to work in eight ports. At least 340 ships, including vessels from Australia and New Zealand, are waiting to be unloaded. In London, many gangs of dockers and stevedores doiiblebanked—instead of their usual practice of working first one hold then the next. They worked as many holds simultaneously as the available labour force permitted.

Perishable/cargoes in ships’ holds in London totalled 29,000 tons of meat, 4496 tons of butter, 525 tons of try, 600 tons of cheese, 5500 tons ef dried fruit, and 300 tons of eggs. The dockers intend to work overtime after dark under floodlights to shift more than £200,000,000 worth of goods held up by the strike. Ships are being worked according to priorities worked out yesterday. In Liverpool. Manchester, Southampton, Birkenhead, Hull, and Rochester, docks hummed with activity. Dock officials believe it will take several weeks to clear the backlog. This afternoon Sir Walter Monckton, Britain’s Labour Minister, will report to the House of Commons on the strike—the worst since 1926—which tied up 350 ships and brought twothirds of the nation’s seaborne trade to a stop. One of the first men to start work in the London docks was Mr Vic Marney. unofficial strike leader in the dispute. He defied the powerful Transport and General Workers’ Union in leading several thousands of its members out on strike. Mr Marney resumed work pn the New Zealand Shipping Company’s 11,281-ton ship Hhparangi. It was over the sorting of meat from the Haparangi that the dispute began, though the strikers’ main complaint revolved round whether overtime should be compulsory.

The strike of 8000 Thames ship repairers was not affected by the settlement yesterday. It has involved 15 unions in a redundancy dispute for seven weeks.