Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 22


     
     1   MR. MORRIS:  Sorry, because he did not come back to you within
     2        five days?
     3        A.  Because he was not dismissed.
     4
     5   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  He had not been dismissed.
     6
     7   MR. MORRIS:  Sorry.
     8
     9   THE WITNESS:  Interim relief was not an option, no dismissal,
    10        legitimate fear of job loss.  Ring the employer?  Should
    11        I ring the employer?  An option likely, in my view, to be
    12        unhelpful to the employee.  Seek a meeting with the
    13        employer, seek to protect the employee that way?  We had no
    14        regular established contact with McDonald's management,
    15        whether at -- certainly not at that branch, nor at higher
    16        management levels.  So, this option, this option, was not
    17        open to me either.
    18
    19        So, he is outraged, he is angry, he is asking for my
    20        assistance, and I believe there is very little I can do.
    21        I did not want him to lose his job, means of livelihood, a
    22        student needing the income.  We never had a reckless
    23        approach to trade union development, and I do not think,
    24        I do not think he liked my advice or my response, rather,
    25        I do not think he liked my response.
    26
    27   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause there.  From that, I understand
    28        you went through what you have just been telling me with
    29        him?
    30        A.  You may indeed infer that.
    31
    32   Q.   That is even like the way you expressed it as you have
    33        expressed it to me; is that what you are saying?
    34        A.  That is what I am saying, my Lord, because although
    35        I do not claim perfect recall of the conversation, what
    36        I do claim is that I know how I advised him.
    37
    38   Q.   Yes.  Very well.
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  Can I ask you one question?  What he put in his
    41        statement, is that what he told you had happened?
    42
    43   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, just leave it there.
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  I think it is important because it is relevant to
    46        your state of mind.
    47
    48   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No.  You take it like this.  If you want
    49        Mr. Pearson's evidence to carry weight, you just let him
    50        give his own account of that. 
    51 
    52   MR. MORRIS:  I was only trying to save time. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There are more important things than that
    55        sometimes.
    56
    57   MR. MORRIS (To the witness):  What did he tell you about his
    58        experiences in the store, can you remember?
    59        A.  Yes, he told me that a number of people were interested
    60        in joining the union, had been interested.  That, I

Prev Next Index