Small Effect Of 1 Porters’ Strike

Press, Volume XCVI, Issue 28347, 5 August 1957, Page 13

Small Effect Of 1 Porters’ Strike

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) LONDON, August .1 The Covent Garden market strike, now in its seventeenth day, had been a flop as far as London’s greengrocers and their customers were cocnerned, the “Daily Mail” reported. It had failed in its objective of keeping shops unstocked and cupboards bare.

Greengrocers reported today that they were getting all the supplies they wanted. They were getting their buying at the markets done more quickly since the porters went on strike and many reported that they were saving money through not having to pay porterage. Many housewives did not realise there was a strike on, shopkeepers said.

Porters at Covent Garden and several suburban vegetable markets are striking against the introduction of a unified labour force plan at the markets. The porterless markets have been quiet since incidents between strike pickets and police last week, when several pickets were fined.

Representatives of the suppliers and of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, the union to which most of the strikers belong, had preliminary talks today on settling the strike. The talks will continue tomorrow.