Day 119 - 02 May 95 - Page 44
1 MR. MORRIS: That is being checked at the moment.
2
3 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Have it checked and come back to it if need
4 be.
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Apart from being top of the tree so far as any
7 disciplinary -----
8
9 MR. RAMPTON: I am on page 11 of day 116. I was asking about
10 his general remit and I said, perhaps under the same
11 misapprehension as Mr. Morris evidently is: "What about
12 contact, if any, with trade unions. Was that something
13 which fell within your remit? " Answer: "I was contacted
14 once, I think, by a trade union. It would come to me".
15
16 MR. MORRIS: Yes, so that was something -----
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It was inconclusive, so if you want to
19 discover what the position was ask now.
20
21 MR. MORRIS: So, if there was anything to do with trade unions,
22 would that have been your responsibility?
23 A. Yes, I think I would have probably got involved with
24 it. It could have been dealt with at local level. I have
25 no doubt they have had enquiries from trade unions at local
26 level that I have never found out about. I have never been
27 informed about. But if there was a serious approach from a
28 trade union to us for any reason, I think that would
29 obviously come to me, or I would certainly be involved.
30 I am a bit concerned about this matter of discipline.
31 I was not the final appeal in discipline. Anybody could go
32 to Paul Preston.
33
34 MR. MORRIS: OK, under Paul Preston you were top of the tree?
35 A. Yes, I was the sort final appeal, but either the Chief
36 Operations officer or Paul Preston, himself, would be the
37 final appeal.
38
39 Q. I am just trying to find out what your job was, because you
40 said that as far as working conditions you did not make any
41 recommendations on that. You said that as far as keeping
42 an eye on minimum wage and Wage Council matters that did
43 not spread to actually knowing anything about how many wage
44 inspectors there are?
45 A. Well, I do not know how many wage inspectors. You are
46 getting the two things mixed up. They are two separate
47 things. The wages inspectors would quite obviously have
48 more recourse to go to store or to the Payroll Department.
49
50 Q. If wages inspectors found something amiss in a local
51 store -- there are local authority inspectors as well, are
52 there? How does it work, the wages inspectors system?
53
54 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Who is the enforcement agency?
55 A. I have no idea, my Lord. I was thinking about this
56 last night, and I really have no idea. My personal contact
57 with wages inspectors was one meeting with the Chief Wages
58 Inspector for our region. I would not like to hazard a
59 guess.
60
