Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 37
1 covered by the Wages Council protection.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: Can I ask you a question? The 9.8 million of low
4 paid, that you said -----
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Did you say 9.8?
7 A. 9.8 approximately.
8
9 MR. MORRIS: Where does catering come in that -- catering
10 workers?
11 A. I do not have current figures on the number of catering
12 employees below that figure.
13
14 Q. But catering workers in general, as compared to other
15 industries, what is your opinion in terms of pay levels?
16 A. Catering is one of those sectors which is recognised as
17 being low paid. High proportions of the workforce in the
18 various segments of the catering industry are paid below
19 this decency threshold figure. One of the reasons why, in
20 1946, the wages councils were established in the catering
21 industry was because of low pay; and they were still
22 needed, in my opinion, in August 1993 when the minimum
23 wages were abolished. It was significant that nearly half
24 of the workforce covered by wages councils were catering
25 workers, full- and part-time.
26
27 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Can I ask another question? When you say the
28 average wage of men in manual jobs or in the Council of
29 Europe's 68 per cent of average earnings, is that actual
30 average earnings or on a basic week?
31 A. That is gross earnings, my Lord.
32
33 Q. Yes. So, if someone earns overtime and, before their
34 earnings are thrown into the pile to work out the average,
35 no deduction is made to bring them back to a 37 or 40 hour
36 week, the whole of what they earn goes in?
37 A. Yes, that is right.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: So these are actual take home -----
40 A. These are gross -----
41
42 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No. They are gross.
43 A. Gross pay.
44
45 MR. MORRIS: Sorry.
46
47 MR. JUSTICE BELL: They are what appears at the beginning of the
48 payslip.
49
50 MR. MORRIS: It is what you get on your payslip.
51 A. They are the gross earnings, target much higher than
52 the Wages Council target.
53
54 Q. Now, you have said that the catering industry is recognised
55 as a low paid industry, in general. Have you heard of the
56 Catering Review Group?
57 A. Yes, I have.
58
59 MR. MORRIS: I believe we have a document here which has been
60 looked at before.
