Striking Asians complain jobs were

Press

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December Appeal Fund 186a Clapham High Street London SW4 7UG. tound that 41 white trainee knitters had been taken on when they returned after a six-week strike.

And the strikers claimed yesterday that leading officials of the National Union of Hosiery and Knitwear Workers knew that outside labour had been given jobs.

Dhiru Patel claimed this was so when he gave evidence yesterday at the first day ot a committee of inquiry at Nottingham into the strike by 500. Asian workers at the Loughborough factory. Second meat move away from London's dockland LORD VESTEY'S Thames Stevedoring Company in the Royal docks faces closure following the decision to switch the South American meat trade to Southampton.

There are about 1,100 men employed on the South American trade. London's dockland has already suffered a serious decline through the recent removal of the New Zealand meat trade to Sheerness.

In both trades the Vestey organization plays a commanding role. The group has refused to comment on the latest move to Southampton, but it is no secret that the directors have been complaining about the handling charges in London.

Recently the employers were demanding a 50-per-cent increase in productivity from London dockers.

The decision to close down London's traditional meat trade is a huge blow at the dockers.

If Lord Vestey closes his Thames Stevedoring-which now seems likely—-the 1,100 dockers will have to be re-allocated to other work in the port.

other FROM PHILIP WADE IN NOTTINGHAM The strikers originally decided to go back on November 27 on the basis of an agreement with management that Asian workers would be trained as full-fashioned knitters.

No Asians have ever been trained for these jobs in the plant-being employed only as low-paid bar loaders.

When we went back management tried to bring new pro- cedures and routines, new said Mr Patel through an interpreter.

'Workers were put on different machines and some were told they could only work say three days a week. them, a hitherto unspecified form of work-sharing will be introduced.

The effects of this are not clear, but when the Aldington terms were announMine and car claims due in New Year MINERS' union leaders yesterday gave their negotiators what hand in amounts bay talks starting Jan- to a completely free uary 10.

No firm demands on either pay or hours emerged from a morning meeting of the National Union of Mineworkers' executive.

Joe Gormley, NUM president, stressed that the figures of £5 and f7 mentioned at the union's conference in July were simply targets.

So was the five-hour cut in the working week which had been called for. No one had specified a date by which these things should be achieved.

Gormley denied that the ex'We brought in the union officials, said Mr Patel, 'although one denied knowing about the knitters management contended that they told them.

'All the bar loaders said they wouldn't work in such conditions and went back on strike, added Mr Patel. He claimed: 'The union was aware of the new knitters'.

Peter Prendergast, president of the union, and Harold Gibson, the general secretary, were both at the committee of inquiry.

The chairman of the government inquiry is Kenneth Robinson, former Labour Minister and now personnel chief of the British Steel Corporation. ced, Jones said it could dockers losing pay.

The first ships carryin South American tra ffic wil start discharging at Sout lampto next March.

cutive's attitude had been in uenced b • the government's pay-control law. We are negotiating as if it didn't exist', he claimed.

FORD UNION negotiators yesterday submitted a substantial pay claim on behalf of 50,000 workers at 21 plants.

Besides a big increase in wages, the unions want a cut in hours, more holidays and higher pensions.

The present agreement runs out at the end of February, and any new deal is certain to be affected by pay legislation following the present standstill. But there were no threats of industrial action yesterday.

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