Day 204 - 15 Jan 96 - Page 35
1 down, would that be a fair assessment?
2 A. I do not know if there was a downward trend. I had not
3 really studied it that closely. I mean, the object was to
4 get them down. I have not really ---
5
6 Q. Yes.
7 A. -- sort of ascertained whether there was a downward
8 trend or not.
9
10 Q. We have heard -- it will not be disputed -- the national
11 figures were something like 195 per cent in December 1989,
12 195, 196 or something ---
13 A. Were they?
14
15 Q. -- and then it has gradually been brought down over the
16 last few years, and that trend seems to be reflected in the
17 figures that we have got, not just for this particular
18 document but for the documents we have got for that
19 region. Does that accord with your experience?
20 A. Well, from where I stand at present, the Company -- the
21 regional average, I believe, is sort of about half that
22 now.
23
24 Q. Right.
25 A. So it is about 105, I think, the latest figures. So,
26 from that, if you take that point in time through until
27 now, there has been a downward trend. I would not like to
28 comment on whether there was a downward trend or otherwise
29 around that period. I honestly cannot remember.
30
31 Q. Right. But, from your recollection, the turnover figures
32 for, say, 88 and 87, would they reflect the same pattern?
33 A. I cannot remember. I cannot remember what they are or
34 were.
35
36 Q. You cannot say what the figures were like ---
37 A. Sorry, no.
38
39 Q. -- in the 80s basically?
40 A. Well, I cannot, no.
41
42 Q. Right.
43 A. They were not tracked for most of the 80s, as far as I
44 recall. I do not think the turnover was tracked as a
45 percentage for a proportion of the 80s.
46
47 Q. Right. We are just sitting down collecting our thoughts.
48 We are trying to do it subject by subject rather than me
49 coming back at the end.
50
51 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Sit down, if you want to, Mr. Davis.
52
53 MS. STEEL: You have said about holding payroll surgeries and
54 about encouraging crew, you say, to check their payslips
55 against the hours they have worked?
56 A. Yes.
57
58 Q. Did you get many complaints about crew pay?
59 A. Not that many, no.
60
