Day 121 - 04 May 95 - Page 10


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I am sorry, you must stop there because we do
     2        not know yet that there had been any complaints about it.
     3        By all means ask if there were a significant number of
     4        complaints because if, at the end of the day, it turned out
     5        it was very rare, I can imagine there might be no
     6        complaints about it, or very few.  If, at the end of the
     7        day, there appears to be evidence that it happened quite
     8        often, that would be another matter obviously.
     9
    10        What I suggest you put to him, if there were a significant
    11        number of complaints about being sent home when they turned
    12        up for work to earn some money, would Mr. Nicholson expect
    13        that that would get through to him or should it have got
    14        through to him?
    15
    16   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  (To the witness):  What is your view on that?
    17        A.  Well, my answer would be, if it was a trend that was
    18        developing to an unacceptable level, I would expect the
    19        Field Personnel Officer for that region to detect it and,
    20        perhaps, bring it to my attention or deal with it.  What it
    21        would suggest, if it was happening regularly, is that
    22        someone in that restaurant was not scheduling correctly and
    23        retraining may be necessary.  But I would anticipate that
    24        the Operational supervisory staff would pick that up very,
    25        very quickly.
    26
    27   Q.   So, it is something which you do not want to see happening
    28        then, managers sending people home?
    29        A.  You are right.  It is something I would prefer not to
    30        see happening, but I realise there will be times when it
    31        does.
    32
    33   Q.   It is bad practice, it indicates bad practice?
    34        A.  Not necessarily.
    35
    36   Q.   You have said it indicates -----
    37        A.  It indicates -- to me it probably indicates that they
    38        have not reached their expected volume.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  If it happens to an employee ---
    41        A.  It is unacceptable;  I do not like it.
    42
    43   Q.   -- may be twice a year or something, that may be passed off
    44        as bad luck, but if it was happening regularly, then it
    45        would be a bit offside, would it not?
    46        A.  That is right.  It means that someone is either
    47        over-anticipating their projected volumes or is
    48        over-scheduling.
    49
    50   Q.   Yes, and it would be unfair on the employee to be treated 
    51        that way? 
    52        A.  Most unfair, yes, and I would expect that supervisory 
    53        staff would pick that up very, very quickly and deal with
    54        it, because it would lead to unrest and unhappiness amongst
    55        the crew.
    56
    57   MR. MORRIS:  If crew members are working 50 hours a week, that
    58        is something that is against Company policy, is it not?
    59        A.  Absolutely, but those figures indicate it is extremely
    60        unlikely that anybody is working 50 hours a week.  You have

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