Day 138 - 20 Jun 95 - Page 43
1 A. Totally, yes.
2
3 Q. Who took the film?
4 A. It was a professional photographer who was using a
5 video-tape camera.
6
7 Q. Is that the one you mentioned earlier?
8 A. Yes.
9
10 Q. How was the siege lifted if I may put it like that?
11 A. I am not quite sure what you are asking. That evening
12 how was it lifted or?
13
14 Q. Yes. You said the malitia were called when the police did
15 not come?
16 A. Yes.
17
18 Q. Did they manage to make a passage so that people could get
19 out?
20 A. Yes, they came with a large contingent and they too
21 circled the restaurant. What they did was they brought in
22 what I would call an amoured vehicle, frankly.
23
24 Q. Did they carry guns?
25 A. Yes. They brought vehicles in the rear and they would
26 load up our employees, our managers, and whatever customers
27 were there, and drive them through the pickets and that is
28 how everyone got out.
29
30 Q. Now, was that the end of it?
31 A. No. They took over the entire premises.
32
33 Q. Who did?
34 A. The union. They set up tents in the driveway, the
35 parking lot. They put banners across the entrances and
36 they defaced the property as well.
37
38 Q. When you say the union, we are still talking about Croc,
39 are we?
40 A. That is correct.
41
42 Q. How long did that go on for?
43 A. That lasted totally about three weeks.
44
45 Q. How was that resolved in the end?
46 A. What happened was that evening, after we finally were
47 able to extricate ourselves, we set up a meeting, we were
48 able to set up a meeting with the Under Secretary of Labour
49 from Mexico. I am just trying to recall his name and it
50 will come to me.
51
52 Q. It does not matter.
53 A. We told him what had happened. He advised us that we
54 needed to pursue an election within the Mexican labour
55 court system, and that that was the way to resolve this
56 thing, so we immediately began pursuing the election
57 procedure. The union, we tried to get it accelerated. It
58 happened quickly. There is that provision in their law.
59 The union, frankly, did everything they could to delay the
60 election.
