Tories may use Act against striking dockers

Relations Act against the striking dockers.

In a statement to MPs at the House of Commons, he made clear that if the JonesAldington joint committee fails to come up with a solution to the dispute, the Tories will attempt to use both the Act and emergency powers.

As he spoke the ports were at a standstill, with ships lying idle or being diverted to the Continent.

Jack Jones, general secretary of Transport and General Norkers' Union, was preparins for an emergency meeting wit Lord Aldington, Tory chairman of the Port of London Authority and co-chairman of the joint committee on docks jobs.

The government, Macmillan told the Commons, was giving 'immediate consideration to the action they may need to take to protect the general interest of the economy and the consumer' Answering a question from his Labour shadow, Reginald Prentice MP, he said: 'I cannot give an undertaking that the appropriate use of the Industrial Relations Act would not be used.' He insisted that the government was not prepared to allow any weakening of the Act which would allow 'irrational and illegal forces' to operate successfully.

Premier Edward Heath postponed a meeting with Malta premier Dom Mintoff to be in the Commons for the stateSports, the situation was of complete shutdown.

LONDON was stopped completely and 23 vessels were strikebound. More than 20 ships with cargoes which can only be discharged at London queued in the Thames estuary off Southend.

MERSEYSIDE was also solid, with both dockers and clerical staff out. dockers were out and 25 ships held up in po its from BLYTH to the TEES.

In SOUTI I WALES, 1,300 dockers at Cardiff, Newport, Swansea, and Port Talbot were on strike.

One group, of 145 dockers at intend went on working. They continue almost throughout the weekend.

On Thursday they started unloading 2,200 tons of bananas and reported normally to work Mersey clerks fight redundancies ILONGSIDE the 10,000 Liverool dockers on strike are locks clerical staff who are ighting port employers' ttempt to force through edundancies.

• ARTE elea MemDers OI ALIs Ine vhite-collar section of the Transport and General Workers Union, the 800 staff nvolved stopped work last Aonday demanding the release if the five jailed London lockers.

Originally they had been lanning to come out over the edundancies on that date. sut as George Morris, assistint secretary or te lauryu :/167 branch, told Workers "ress: 'We changed the basis ENTEN 7 TAM yesterday to continue unloading the remaining 1,500 tons in 'accordance with an agreement to deal with perishable goods. SCOTLAND'S docks were at a standstill with an estimated 60 ships lying idle.

Some Aberdeen dockers were attending to vessels involved in essential services. Aberdeen fish dock was working normally. Porters there were waiting for their position to be reviewed by their union, and were working of the strike to the more fundamental issue of the attack on trade unionism itself.' Now, with the dockers themselves out for the right to work, the clerical workers, who include wharfingers, fnna wn incluut wuaruugers, lure men, counters-off and supervisory staff, are striking for the withdrawal of redundancy notices issued to 62 men.

They also want: parity with the dockers as regards wages and conditions, including severance terms; comprehensive talks on manning levels;

and a register in the port which will give job-security similar to that Inder the Nank Iahnur wal unutt we vuin Scheme.

It's the first time these on a day-to-day basis.

Over 500 dockers at Grangemouth and Leith met yesterday morning and decided to obey the national strike call.

At DOVER, the Harbour Board agreed with the T&GWU not to accept any roll-on roll-off freight traffic diverted from strike-hit ports at the ferry terminal there.

At FELIXSTOWE container port 300 day shift workers voted to strike immediately. sections have acted in a united way, said George Morris.

'Even if the dockers hadn't been on strike, there would have been. no checks on cargo, no wages paid and no paperwuin. nanarwark 'We have had full support from the docks section all the time we have been in talks with the companies. This is a very encouraging development for trade unionism in the future.' The companies involved in issuing the redundancy • notices are A. E. Smith Coggins and Ocean Port Services, two of the big four employers in the pose nort currentiv anaased merger talks, and J.

Fletcher, a shipping agent.

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