News In Brief

Strike called on union ban at hush-hush British center

Britain's biggest civil service union called on its members Sunday to strike for half a day today, adding new weight to protests over the banishment of unions from an electronic spy center.

The dispute, in which Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher is at loggerheads with the country's unions, now promises to cause widespread disruption to industry, transport, and the government bureaucracy.

Miners, railmen, truck drivers, and dockers also planned walkouts today. Many may be breaking laws that Mrs. Thatcher has passed to prohibit sympathy strikes.

She has given the estimated 7,000 employees at the Government Communications Headquarters until Thursday to sign forms renouncing the right of union membership. Those who refuse will be transferred or fired.