Dear Mr. Kilcullen,
I acknowledge with thanks receipt of your letter dated the 15th March.
I note the comments you have to make and fully accept that your principles promoted your actions, despite the warning from the Deputy General Secretary that such action would result in dismissal. I trust that, in turn, you will accept that, as General Secretary, I am responsible for the whole of the Union and, given the anti-union laws and our own conference decisions, I must not jeopardise the fabric of the Union in the interests of one section of its members.
I must refute the notion that the TGWU has done nothing to support the dockers at Liverpool. From the outset both myself and other senior officers of the Union have done all that we could to seek the best possible settlement through negotiations with the Mersey Docks and Harbour Company. Added to this the Union has, within the constraints of the law, supported the Hardship Fund set up within the community. Given the anti-union laws we are of course unable to state publicly the level of assistance we have given to the dockers in the dispute.
I hope you will accept that I have received letters from a broad cross-section of the dismissed dockers, many of whom call for a secret ballot amongst the membership involved in order to test the merit or otherwise, of the offer made by the company.
I note your threat of legal action against the TGWU but rest assured that the Union will be defended against any such action.
You very kindly quoted my words which I was very proud to offer to the dockers in the context of what was an industrial dispute. However, as you know, the dockers have moved on and they are no longer running an industrial dispute but a political movement. This was made clear to me by Jimmy Nolan during the Labour Party Conference at Blackpool.
Despite these distractions we remain committed to working for a negotiated settlement.
Yours sincerely,
Bill Morris
