No papers in London strike

Press, 1 March 1984, Page 10

No papers in London strike

NZPA-AP ’> London Tens of thousands of workers joined a “day of action’’ strike protesting against the British Government’s ban on unions at a top-secret' Intelligence centre. The walk-out blocked production of all national newspapers in London.

The strike yesterday also halted some trains, buses and ambulances, disrupted industries and Government services and, in one London borough, forced the postponement of several funerals.

Jubilant union leaders hailed the protest as a "stupendous success,” but the institute of Directors, an employers’ organisation, said that the strike had had

no effect on 95 per cent of Britain’s industries. Most newspaper unions had urged their members to work normally to ensure full coverage of the “day of action,” but the engineering union decided to withdraw its members, halting production of yesterday’s London editions. The Newspaper Publishers’ Association said it would sue for maximum damages. The Prime Minister, Mrs Margaret Thatcher, said that she deplored and condemned the one-day nationwide protest. She said “it hits out at ordinary people” and provided further justification for her ban on unions at the General Communications Headquarters in Cheltenham, west of London.