Day 175 - 18 Oct 95 - Page 36


     
     1        apologise to staff and say he should not have promised it;
     2        it was his fault.
     3
     4        If we were training someone, they would be counted as part
     5        of the staffing complement for the evening even if they
     6        were not going to be able to fulfil a role in a busy time.
     7        So, one of the people who were supposed to be doing an
     8        ordinary job was actually there to learn; they might have
     9        never worked in a store before.
    10
    11   Q.   Just one point of clarification in the next paragraph,
    12        which is on page 5, faxed page 5 -- I have not got the
    13        other numbers at the bottom; the one at the top of page 5
    14         -- you talk about delivery drivers, telling you they had
    15        sold their union rights away.  Can you just say, what do
    16        you mean, "delivery drivers"?
    17        A.  The drivers who bought the goods to the store, the
    18        food, or the dry goods, when we off-load with them we got
    19        to know them because it tended to be the same people.  When
    20        we were talking about unionising in the store, we asked
    21        them about it, whether they ----
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I think I have to stop you there because you
    24        know what the rule is.  You can say anything which was said
    25        to you about unions, subject to any objection by a Manager,
    26        but what I cannot have you saying is what other members of
    27        crew said to you about their experiences, or drivers said
    28        to you about their experiences, for that matter.  In fact,
    29        although I did not stop you reading it, unless there is
    30        some special point I have missed, the paragraph at the top
    31        of page 4, I cannot take account of it.  It is not a matter
    32        of life or death.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  Rather than it being evidence of the fact that it
    35        is true, it is a fact that there was a rumour about staff
    36        being sacked, is it, all staff being sacked at the Croydon
    37        store?
    38        A.  It was a widely held belief amongst the staff,
    39        especially the people who had been there a long time who
    40        actually said they knew that to be the case.  It was not
    41        clear whether it was a -----
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You just leave it there.
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  You do not know.
    46
    47   THE WITNESS:  That is all I know, yes.
    48
    49   MR. MORRIS:  Coming on to the unionisation, can you just explain
    50        how this whole situation developed, apart from what it says 
    51        in your statement? 
    52        A.  Well, there was always people unhappy with the system 
    53        there and being worked too hard and the conditions and
    54        situations came and went, but things came to a particular
    55        head during the time I was working there full-time, or just
    56        around the time I started working full-time, but everyone
    57        began to get extremely frustrated and felt that there was
    58        absolutely no hearing for any grievances whatsoever, and
    59        that they were being treated extremely badly and being
    60        forced to work in really hard conditions.

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