Day 180 - 31 Oct 95 - Page 19
1 whether Mr. McGee's statement accords with Mr. Pearson's
2 experience, it will have some things which Mr. Pearson
3 might be able to give admissible evidence about, and a
4 number of other things which Mr. Pearson could not possibly
5 give admissible evidence about.
6
7 MR. MORRIS: Yes, I was going to ask him ------
8
9 MR. JUSTICE BELL: At the risk of taking just a little bit
10 longer than it might otherwise take, I suggest you ask
11 Mr. Pearson puts Mr. McGee's statement on one side and you
12 seek to elicit that which you want from Mr. Pearson.
13
14 MR. MORRIS: Right. Can I just say something? I am finding it
15 very difficult to do this examination-in-chief when, you
16 know, I was going to do what you said, or let Mr. Pearson
17 do it, but I am finding it very hard to get any flow.
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let us get started. You can start.
20
21 MR. MORRIS: I can deal with it, no problem.
22
23 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, very well. Just sit down if you want to
24 think about it, but otherwise take your time and get
25 yourself organised on what you want to ask.
26
27 MR. MORRIS (To the witness): Mr. McGee joined the Transport and
28 General Workers union, did he?
29 A. He did. I met Mr. McGee in my office at North Gower
30 Street around about June 1987 for the first time, when he
31 approached me seeking advice and information on the
32 possibility of joining the Transport and General Workers
33 Union and -----
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Pause there a moment. Yes?
36 A. He was a young man, he was a student, he was working,
37 as he told me, at the Seven Sisters branch of McDonald's
38 which I was familiar with, and he was describing to me some
39 of the working conditions, was asking for my advice on wage
40 rates, and I gave him advice as to the applicability of
41 Wages Council minimum wage rates, overtime rates and so
42 forth.
43
44 Bearing in mind that we are now talking about the period
45 just after the original revisions to Wages Council
46 legislation 1986, I provided him with probably around 30
47 TGWU hotel and catering recruitment leaflets, and I did not
48 just give them to him and say, you know, go off ------
49
50 Q. Just pause. I am taking a note, do you understand, so if
51 you break it up and just rather watch my pen and I will
52 give you a nod, if need be, to go on. "I provided him with
53 about 30 TGWU leaflets"?
54 A. Hotel and catering membership leaflets, which contained
55 basic information on joining the union, union subscription
56 rates, and a passing mention of the Wages Council statutory
57 minimum wage rates applicable at that time. I advised him
58 that he would be if he joined -----
59
60 Q. Just pause a moment.
