Day 121 - 04 May 95 - Page 41
1 MR. MORRIS: I would like to know if, in his Personnel
2 responsibility, he was aware of rights which had been
3 established by the Labour Board as a result of that strike
4 which, of course, he would have to be aware of, if he was
5 doing his job properly.
6
7 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Why do you not put what they were and ask him
8 whether he was aware of them?
9
10 MR. MORRIS (To the witness): Are you aware that the Labour
11 Board -- I forget the exact name of it -- ruled that the
12 members of a union in Ireland had a right to be represented
13 by that union even if they were in a minority in a store?
14 A. I cannot remember what I was told about that now. I am
15 sorry. No, I cannot remember what I was told about that.
16 I mean, Michael Meagan took me through the incidents and
17 everything else.
18
19 Q. You are still responsible -----
20 A. No, I am not.
21
22 Q. Sorry, not any more, but as Head of Personnel, up until
23 1991, you were responsible, you said, for ensuring ---
24 A. Yes.
25
26 Q. -- that the law was complied with in Ireland, yes?
27 A. Yes.
28
29 Q. Were you aware that was the law or, certainly, the ruling
30 as a result of that strike that there was the right to
31 union representation, even there was only a minority of
32 members in a particular store?
33 A. No. I cannot remember the details. I am trying to --
34 I really cannot remember the details.
35
36 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, you see, this is the trouble; Mr. Morris
37 will do this -- he does it all the time -- he extracts a
38 single piece of information from a welter of documents, as
39 I have said. He then distorts it and expects the witness
40 to answer a question on the basis of -----
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The answer to you at the moment is, you are
43 not aware of what the ramifications or you cannot now
44 remember, if you ever were aware, what the ramifications of
45 any Labour Board ruling there might have been were?
46 A. No, that is the difficulty.
47
48 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I start from an earlier position. There
49 was no ruling. There was a recommendation.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: May be, yes, or recommendation. Do not
52 struggle with this -----
53 A. I am sure I was told about this but I just cannot
54 remember, my Lord.
55
56 Q. If you can remember something, of course, take time to
57 think about it and see if it comes back, but if you cannot
58 remember, then just say so.
59 A. At this moment in time, I cannot remember. I mean,
60 I have not exercised myself on this. I did not realise I
