Trade and Industry Minister Ian McCartney has flatly contradicted claims
by
TGWU General Secretary Bill Morris that the union has written to the
Government to request their intervention in the long running dockers
dispute.
On Saturday 25 October at a meeting in Manchester of the TUC North West
Regional Council, McCartney replied to a question from dock shop steward
Bobby Morton to inform the meeting that no such communication had reached
the Government. Ian McCartney is the relevant Minister and Morton was
representing the TGWU at the TUC meeting.
In September, Morris replied to a question from Executive Council member
and sacked docker Mike Carden with an assurance that the union had already
written to the Government in line with policy agreed at the union's
Biennial Delegate Conference in July, which mandated the union to seek
Government intervention.
McCartney has previously stated that the company and the union are free
to
seek the services of the conciliation service ACAS.
