UNITE AGAINST FISH-ISM

The London Corporation has announced that, after 134 years, it will no longer renew the licenses of porters who work at Billingsgate Fish Market. They claim it is because the role is archaic and unnecessary; the porters think they will replaced by lower-paid workers who will have to endure poor conditions.

Ken Livingstone gave his support to a porters' strike today. He said: "The value of this site is now enormous, and it is going to be much easier to get an act of parliament through that closes or moves the market without a well-organised workforce who know their rights to deal with." Inevitably, the Corporation's announcement has created tension between the traders (who are salaried) and the independent traders, who profit from the market.