Asians cash jumble

BANKERS are eagerly watching the expulsion of the Ugandan Asian population which began yesterday. And their interests are clearly represented on the Uganda Resettlement Board by Sir Walter Coutts, former Governor of Uganda.

Coutts has strong connections in the City of London, He is best remembered for the 'strong man' role he played in the long-running Pergamon affair when Mr Robert Maxwell, Labour MP, was ousted. 'The Asians who hold a position of considerable economic dominance in Uganda have complicated money problems now that they are being expelled. General Idi Amin is keeping their exit allowance down to £50 per person-or less in some cases. Halifax busmen seeking pay parity MUNICIPAL bus m en throughout the Halifax area of Yorkshire went on strike yesterday in support of a claim for £2 increase on basic rates.

The increase is being demanded to reduce the disparity in earnings of about f5 with other local bus operators. A management offer of £1. now, plus talks on productivity, was rejected overwhelmingly at the weekend.

Pickets at the Todmorden depot-taken over by the Halifax corporation only last year—told British bankers hope to unravel vast fortunes This means that vast fortunes are locked away in Uganda and, because of tough exchange controls recently introduced, will be difficult to get out.

The three banks who will be chiefly involved in unravelling this problem are Standard, Barclay DCO and Lord Aldington's National and Grindlays.

Being on the resettlement board will enable Coutts to directly advise on best ways for Asians to sort out their financial affairs.

Coutts' business contacts with 'independent' Africa are extensive. He is a director of Assam and African Investments, Mackenzie and Dalgety Company and Amgoorie Tea Company. Before the British were forced to quit Kenya, Coutts served in the | FROM OUR strike was 100-per-cent solid.

li was unreasonable for the management to. refuse the €2 claim, they said. Others said the claim should have been higher.

"This area has been cheap labour for too long. These local Kevinterge 'Operations room' at the , occupied Wigan plant of Bellot-Walmsley company has been engaged in a big rationalization programme in which 500 jobs have been slashed from its British operation. Work has been transferred to its other sites in Canada, the US, Italy, Spain and Japan. works in argaheshut, while this Last year before the strike the closure and sale of the Riverside works in Bury was announced, just six weeks after a management statement that no closures were expected for at least 12 months.

So there are two reasons for the 1,200 workers' determination to fight on.

At Wigan the sit-in is being organized on a shift basis, with 50 of the 450-strong labour force in occupation at any one time.

The national engineering settlement has cut the ground under the strikers' feet on their demands for shorter hours and substantial increase in earr ings. But they have no intentio n of returning to work on the company's terms. white, military-backed regime as Minister for Education, Labour and Lands.

Coutts, of course, is not the only member of the board who has close ties with Ugandan business circles. Chairman Sir Charles Cunningham, the former permanent secretary at the Home Office, is a director of the private police firm, Securicor.

Securicor has an extremely large and growing business in Uganda. In the past six years its number of police has grown to well over 2,000 almost as many as the regular police.

Securicor's success has been based on the fact that the police force, like the army, was riddled with corruption. There is some evidence that police officers were linked with robberies carried out OWN CORRESPONDENT agreements are no good at all. The union should go for national parity,' a picket commented.

Local Transport and General Workers' Union officials are continuing their talks with management in an attempt to settle the PAPERBACKS CENTRE 28 Charlotte St London W1 Friday-9 a.m.-7.30 p.m.

CHARLO1 TE ST GOOD UE TOTTENHAM CT RI armed banditshe local Many firms decided hire private police instead.

Since the expulsion of the Asians was announced, Cunningham has stated that Securicor's parent company, Associated Hotels, will offer free accommodation to deportees.

Among those hotels to be used by the British passport holders will be the Kensington Palace, the Prince of Wales, the Queensland and the Parkway, all in west London.

Associated Hotels have nine hotels in London and company chairman Keith Erskine said the gesture was being made because come: deserved a friendly wel.

Erskine made no mention of his company's enormously successful business activities in Uganda. Neither did he mention that a former director until the last General Election was Robert Carr, the new Home Secretary in charge of resettling the Ugandan Asians. Small world, isn't it! dispute, but the strikers demanding no out. • Todmorden men • have added grievance. Since the fax takeover last year, r times have been cut by minutes each way without increase in pay. zL-L • PERIODICALS @ NEWSPAPERS PAPERBACKS CENTRE sellan Taliutefive any