Porters at Billingsgate fish market are up in arms over plans to overhaul a local bylaw that they claim threatens to undermine the professional standing of their trade.
The City of London Corporation is proposing to repeal a bylaw from 1876 that requires all Billingsgate porters who carry fish for the customers of the market's fish merchants to be licensed. The proposal has sparked anger among the porters, who claim the proposals are a direct attack on them.
"If the Corporation gets its way, the fish porters will become unlicensed and the professionalism of the market will be lost," said Jennie Formby, national officer at the Unite union, which organised a protest outside the market this week.
However, many fish merchants operating out of Billingsgate agree with the City Corporation that the bylaw would remove an outdated and unnecessary layer of red tape.
The City of London Corporation is proposing to repeal a bylaw from 1876 that requires all Billingsgate porters who carry fish for the customers of the market's fish merchants to be licensed. The proposal has sparked anger among the porters, who claim the proposals are a direct attack on them.
"If the Corporation gets its way, the fish porters will become unlicensed and the professionalism of the market will be lost," said Jennie Formby, national officer at the Unite union, which organised a protest outside the market this week.
However, many fish merchants operating out of Billingsgate agree with the City Corporation that the bylaw would remove an outdated and unnecessary layer of red tape.
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