Day 117 - 27 Apr 95 - Page 15
1 cannot create their own rates of pay. They must take one
2 of the three rates so he can move them to either Outer
3 London or Inner London rates.
4
5 Q. I think you have answered it, but I would like you to just
6 expand on it a little, if I can. I was going to ask you
7 what are the reasons why there are geographical gradations
8 in the rates of pay?
9 A. Mostly because of the difficulty of recruiting. Inner
10 London has very few people living in the Inner London area
11 so they have to bring people in from Outer London.
12
13 Q. Who have to travel?
14 A. Who have to travel. So we pay a higher rate in Inner
15 London. Again, Outer London, the general cost of living is
16 higher then most Provincial areas, so again we pay a
17 slightly higher rate of pay for Outer London.
18
19 Q. If one went to somewhere, I do not know whether this is a
20 good example or not, like Manchester, which is, as Central
21 London is, somewhat under-populated in the middle, might
22 one find there that they were paying something nearer the
23 London rate?
24 A. I think that would be almost certain in Manchester and
25 in Central Birmingham and the other big cities.
26
27 Q. I would ask you, if you will, to extract that single page
28 -- I am going to ask you to look at the box in a moment --
29 from the file because it is necessary to make a comparison
30 with a later page in the same file which is tab 26. I will
31 just identify what it is. It is a notice which says it
32 must be posted up. That is page 626.
33 A. Yes.
34
35 Q. It has (which will please Mr. Morris) all the look of
36 officialdom about it, does it not?
37 A. Yes.
38
39 Q. Does this come from the Wages Council, this document?
40 A. This is the Wages Council White Paper which sets the
41 minimum rates for that year for the industry.
42
43 Q. We see that on the front page it says it is effective as
44 from 13th June 1986?
45 A. Yes.
46
47 Q. Does that mean that anybody who has not complied must
48 backdate his rates of pay?
49 A. From 13th June, that is the minimum rate of pay.
50
51 Q. If he gets this in July or something must he backdate or
52 not?
53 A. Oh, yes, absolutely. I have never known it be late.
54
55 Q. You have never known it be late?
56 A. No.
57
58 Q. Can you turn to page 639, please? This is a page which
59 appears to set out the minimum rates for workers supplied
60 with meals other than managers in the London area, but it
