Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 35


     
     1        kind of information to Mr. Mills?
     2        A.  It was not my job to pass information on to Mr. Mills.
     3        It was Mr. Mills' job to come and investigate if a crew
     4        member had made a complaint.
     5
     6   Q.   Right.
     7        A.  So, it was not for me to pass on anything, if there
     8        was, indeed, anything.
     9
    10   Q.   Are you aware that in the Crew Handbook it is an offence
    11        for a crew member to talk about work conditions to an
    12        outside third party?
    13        A.  Am I aware of it, or was I aware of it?
    14
    15   Q.   Were you aware of it at the time?
    16        A.  I probably was, yes.  I had a copy of the
    17        Crew Handbook.
    18
    19   Q.   You did not feel, seeing as the crew members might be
    20        inhibited or, in fact, banned from discussing conditions of
    21        work with someone like a wage inspector, that they would
    22        believe that, you did not feel it was therefore your
    23        obligation to pass on any information that was concerning
    24        you or worrying you about what was happening at store
    25        level?
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You had better ask if there was information
    28        that was concerning or worrying Mrs. Pearce, first.
    29
    30   MR. MORRIS:  Were you aware of things that were happening during
    31        your time that concerned you, about illegal hours being
    32        worked or -----
    33        A.  I was not concerned, because if a crew member was
    34        unhappy, he was able to speak to his immediate superior.
    35
    36   Q.   You do not know that, do you?
    37        A.  Of course I knew it, because I was in charge of the
    38        payroll department.  So, if there had been a crew member
    39        who was unhappy with their pay or their hours, they would
    40        present it to their immediate superior, who would then come
    41        back to me and say, "Can you check that this person's wages
    42        were correct for that fortnight?"  So, yes, I would have
    43        been aware if they had made a complaint to their immediate
    44        superior.  If they kept it to themselves, then I would not
    45        know, would I?
    46
    47   Q.   Are you saying that you only found out about what was
    48        happening at store level, in terms of problems, if a crew
    49        member made a complaint and it came up through the system
    50        that way? 
    51        A.  How else would I know?  I do not have a crystal ball. 
    52 
    53   Q.   You did not get regular information from, for example,
    54        store audits done by the Company where they had identified
    55        problems that were going on?
    56        A.  I would have been privy to the reports, and if there
    57        was something that was being mishandled within my
    58        department, I would have asked to look at it.  But I am not
    59        sure what the question is.
    60

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