LONDON PAPERS PROTEST

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28936, 2 July 1959, Page 11

LONDON PAPERS PROTEST

Effects Of Printing Ink Strike " s *■ 1 ? < Z ; .■■ '■•■ (UA Press Association-Copyright) (Rec. 1030 p.m.) LONDON, Julyl. The national press protested today at its' involvement in a dispute in the printing ink industry which threatens Britain’s b&test newspaper shutdown since the 1926 general strike. thP , explained to readers that *" e in their ink supplies would mean ■mailer issues ter the rest of this week and ™ newspapers after next Sunday. "TV” Leading articles pointed out that the nation was « he all sources of printed Intemabon because of a dispute which did mt affect the national newspapers. The Government and both sides in the dispute were urged by newspapers of all political affiliations to secure the speediest possible settlement.

The British press is now hamitrung by two parallel disputes stemming from union demands for more pay and a shorter working week. These are:— (1) The two-week-old stoppage in 1100 provincial newspaper offices and 4300 printing firms involving nearly 200,000 workers in 10 unions; and C) A strike by 2500 members of one union employed by the printing ink firms which will make Fleet Street, the famed “Street of Ink.” run dry by this week-end.

Government intervention yesterday failed to bring about peace talks between the employers and the union involved in the printing ink dispute, the National Society of Operative Printers and Assistants. Both sidra sent representatives to separate meetings with Mr St. John Wilson, the Ministry of Labour’s Chief Industrial Comnbsioner. Mo joint meeting, however, resulted and NAT.S.O.P. leaders announced later that the union had given its recognition to the previously unofficial strike action of its members

The printing ink workers began to stop work at the week-end in protest against the issue of dis-

missal notices by one of the leading London ink firms. This firm had taken action against employees Who had banned overtime in support of their claim for more money and a shorter working week. There was a similar background to the start of the earlier printing stoppage on June 17 as employers gave notice to men who had banned overtime and were working to rules. The decision to slim down newspapers and then to cease publication of the “nationals” after Sunday was announced last night by the council of the Newspaper Proprietors’ Association. This represents 12 London morning, three evening and nine Sunday newspapers. In all, however, there are 48 morning. Sunday and weekly newspapers published in London with a combined circulation of 47 million which are affected by the printing ink crisis. This is in addition to the suburban newspapers caught up in the earlier stoppage.

Today the “Daily Sketch,” a tabloid newspaper with a circulation of 1,250.000, told its readers in a front-page leading article that it was the first national morning paper to be hard hit by the strike. The “Daily Sketch"—which was only eight pages today, compared with 16 yesterday—said: “Only by reducing our size drastically can we ensure that we eome out at all for the rest of this week.

“More than that There is an agreement among the morning papers that if one is prevented from coming out the others stop as well," it said.