Day 184 - 06 Nov 95 - Page 48
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2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: "Options", is it not?
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4 MR. MORRIS: "... options were, i.e. closing the store,
5 withdrawing all benefits and cancelling crew activities".
6 Were these options which had come up in discussions amongst
7 the people that were considering withdrawing from the
8 union?
9 A. OK. Now, I do not know where he got that from.
10 I mean, I was not the person who got Kyle's letter, but
11 there were rumours that Cam could close the store down,
12 but, I mean, I did not hear them until later, until all
13 these people started writing their letters, and I am not
14 sure if he, like, I do not know what he means, but I am not
15 sure if maybe he meant by the "negotiation" thing, starting
16 with a clean slate. I am not sure, because he was at the
17 meeting but I do not know.
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19 Q. Right. He then goes on: "The benefits that I am talking
20 about are paid breaks and half price food". He talks about
21 withdrawing all benefits. So there was some fear, was
22 there, that paid breaks and half price food might be
23 stopped?
24 A. Well, I do not -- I do not know, like, but from what he
25 has written, it sounds like that it would all stop, like,
26 not stop, but it would all have to be negotiated.
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28 Q. Had the union said that they were opposed to paid breaks or
29 that staff got some recompense for the food, to buy the
30 food?
31 A. No, they ---
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33 Q. They said that?
34 A. -- they -- I am sorry, repeat the question?
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36 Q. Have the unions said anything about being opposed to any
37 kind of benefits such as those?
38 A. I never heard any of those, no, like I never heard any
39 of that.
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41 Q. Right.
42 A. I cannot testify what other people .....
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44 Q. That was point (1) of the vital information being
45 withheld. "2. I was not told that raises would only be
46 given out once a year and that they would not depend on
47 personal performance, but on a union negotiated increase
48 that would be the same for all employees". Where did that
49 come from then, where was that idea coming from?
50 A. I do not know. I did not even know he wrote that.
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52 Q. Had the union said to you that they were opposed to any
53 performance related pay?
54 A. They never said anything to me about that, but they may
55 have said something to him, I do not know.
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57 Q. Or that they were opposed to wage increases more often than
58 once a year?
59 A. They never said anything like that to me, no.
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