Violence feared in dock dispute

Melbourne - Australia's waterfront docks dispute could turn into a "bloody battle", a Victoria state police minister Mr Bill …

Melbourne - Australia's waterfront docks dispute could turn into a "bloody battle", a Victoria state police minister Mr Bill McGrath said on Friday, yesterday, as police and protesters again clashed at ports around the country.

But despite police removing union protesters from various pickets, no trucks entered Australian wharves operated by Patrick Stevedores, which sacked 1,400 dockers on April 7th.

Victorian police minister Bill Mr McGrath said police in the southern state would use "stronger action" to remove union protesters from Melbourne's docks, Australia's biggest container port, following a court injunction against dockers' pickets.

"It's going to be a tough battle, I believe it will be a bloody battle, but at the end of the day we must win," McGrath said.