Miner's leader calls for national stoppage

The militant left-wing leader of Britain's mine-workers union called on the entire labor movement Tuesday to defy the law and stop work in support of a four-month-old health service workers' dispute with the government.

Arthur Scargill, president of the powerful National Union of Mineworkers, told the annual conference of the Trades Union Congress that direct action was needed to oppose labor laws which he said were designed to emasculate the union movement. Strikes by workers not directly involved in a dispute were banned by the British government.