Day 155 - 14 Jul 95 - Page 49
1 it. If it has a foul smelling uniform, or someone has left
2 Wensleydale cheese in their for 6 months, you can
3 presumably see which locker it is and do something about
4 it. But if they are using their locker in a perfectly
5 ordinary way, why not let them to continue to so?
6 A. Really I was adhering to what is stated in the Crew
7 Handbook regarding lockers.
8
9 Q. You were sticking to the rule book, that is what it was?
10 A. Yes.
11
12 MR. MORRIS: I put it to you this is another case of company
13 paranoia about people having their own space, their own
14 independent space for their personal effects?
15 A. They do have their own personal space for the period of
16 time that they are at work.
17
18 Q. You would not want them to feel they had any independent
19 right to that space over a number of weeks and months to
20 store things that the Company might not want in them like
21 union leaflets for example?
22 A. That is you saying that; I totally disagree with you.
23
24 Q. So what is the rationale behind the Company policy on not
25 allowing people to have their own locker. He might no; I
26 do not know?
27 A. Availability to actually clean them out and, secondly,
28 also to try and track the uniform control so I know how
29 many uniforms I have in circulation. If there is only one
30 locker that is locked, it is not really an issue. If it
31 was 20 or 30 lockers, that would be different.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Please put that sentence. If you do not do
34 it now I am going to do it and this is supposed to be your
35 cross-examination.
36
37 MR. MORRIS: Well he has said that he had not spoken to ----
38
39 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I know but I would like you do put that
40 anyway.
41
42 MR. MORRIS: did you claim to Mr. Magee that the Company had a
43 right to presumably break into a person's locker, or
44 remove, yes, to remove the lock from the locker because it
45 was in accordance with his employment contract and also in
46 accordance in with a sign which was placed up in the crew
47 room about only using the locker for individual shifts?
48 A. From what I recall after 14 years of experience, that
49 is the general practice that those lockers are purely for
50 the people that work for those days.
51
52 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The suggestion is that Mr. Magee not only
53 complained to you but when he did, you said that you had
54 removed the lock from his locker?
55 A. That is totally not true.
56
57 Q. Do you remember anyone coming to you and complaining about
58 his locker being broken into and you saying to them, "Well
59 I took the lock off the locker"?
60 A. No, I am not that sort of person that would do
