London men plan picket at Colchester

MEN AT wharves at Colchester and Rowhedge docks, Hythe, were working normally yesterday despite requests from London docks shop stewards to back the national strike.

A 300-strong picket failed to arrive yesterday because dockers had to collect tax rebates and social security for their families, and sign on for strike But Pim Carpenter, chairman of the Port of London Authority stewards at the Royal docks, told Workers Press: We will be out in force today' The Colchester wharves employ a total labour torce of 30 including ten dockers, but none are members of a trade union. The men work for three private wharfingers handling coasters of up to 500 tons which carry grain, timber and animal foods..

Two 18-year-old students working at the wharves left on Thursday after National Union of Students President Digby Tacks made a flying visit to Colchester to urge them not to scab on dockers.

container terminal at Harwich, Parkestone Wharf, was also open for business yesterday. Operated by members the National Union of Railwaymen. Pickets from nearby Harwich navy yard had asked them repeatedly to stop work.

Transport and General Workers' Union shop steward for the 120 unregistered dockers at the navy yard, Ernie Blake, said his were not affected by redundancies at the mainly roll-on, roll-off dock.

But he added: 'We have been called out on official strike. We are all T&GWU members and we are all dockers, so we stopped work.

'The main thing the dockers are after is guarantees. They have lost SO much through modernization and now things have come to a head.

'The Jones-Aldington report has not given enough. The strike