Hull Unionists Launch "silver Cod" Petition

from Tony Topham The following circular is being distributed throughout +t in the Hull area (and other fishing centres, ): - ne-ishone ‘nowsnmae "We are writing, as fellow trade unionists and as men who are engaged the hazardous trawling industry, to urge you to give the maximum aa to the enclosed petition to the Prime Minister, We can assure you, since we write as experienced fishermen, that the petition correctly states the deep feelings of trawlermen on this subject of death rates at sea, and the responsibility of the trawler owners. In the past, we have been $e fatalistic about the dangers in our work: we are now determined that the system will have to be changed, We think that the act of a Labour Prime Minister in presenting the Silver Cod trophy is not the best way of starting on the road to the changes which we want to see. We need a government, and M.P.s, and a trade union, which is on our side, not which fraternise with the owners, "Please collect the biggest possible number of signatures on the enclosed petition, and return it to us as soon as possible, at the above address, If you can also forward a contribution towards the costs of this petition, we shall be very grateful. We hope to publish the petition in a public advertisement in the newspapers, and for this we need funds..... J. Spink (trawler engineer), D, Ayre (trawler engineer), K, Crowther (trawler engineer), S, Mahoney (tug skipper), W.H. Petty (trawler spare hand), A. Kirk Naulls (trawler php tem E, Brady (trawler cook), A. C. Beer (trawler deck hand), and Lb, Turnbill (trawler spare hand), All members of the Transport and General Workers' Union, Copies of the petition, which contains a well-argued case on the question of safety in the fishing industry, can be obtained from: T & GWU Offices, St, Andrews Dock, Hull.._The organisers would particularly like to be put in touch with either?in> e fishing industry or in towns where there is a fishing industry,