Much of Wales tied up as steel strike grows

The British steel strike escalated Monday, with large areas of Wales ties up by protest stoppages and by union battling to overturn a controversial court order. Coal mines and docks were at a standstill and rail and bus services halted as Welsh unions staged a "day of action" to back the 180,000 striking workers employed by the state-owned British Steel Corporation.

The 24-hour protest strike was particularly effective in southern Wales, where thousands of jobs are threatened if the month-old steel dispute drags on. An estimated 100,000 workers took part in the protest, and a mass rally in the Welsh capital of Cardiff denounced the Conservative government's proposals to prune the money-losing corporation.