Day 173 - 16 Oct 95 - Page 48
1
2 Q. But that is what happened: reviews were carried out? We
3 can see from the documents.
4 A. Yes. I cannot recall.
5
6 Q. Wage rises were given.
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The restaurant in Upper O'Connell Street,
9 according to your statement, opened on 23rd January, 1979?
10 A. That is correct.
11
12 Q. Which was only less than a month before, in fact?
13 A. That is correct.
14
15 Q. Granted that some people have come across from Grafton
16 Street -- for instance, Marie Walsh, according to the
17 memorandum. But at what stage did you take people on to
18 start training them up for the new restaurant?
19 A. They would have been taken on prior to the end of the
20 year.
21
22 Q. That is why I ask. I mean, is what you are saying that a
23 lot of them were taken on in November preparatory to
24 O'Connell Street opening?
25 A. Yes, they were.
26
27 Q. So the 90 days would be up at about this time?
28 A. Yes. What happened, my Lord, was that the construction
29 of the restaurant was delayed; it should have opened in
30 December 1978, approximately, in some date in that month,
31 and it did not, because there was a major problem with
32 electrical installation, and it did not open until January,
33 23rd January. So quite a few people employed for that
34 restaurant would have commenced employment in
35 November 1978, the previous November.
36
37 MS. STEEL: "He processed the reviews very quickly and most
38 people were rated 2 which is an excellent rating and
39 qualified them for an hourly raise of 10 pence per hour.
40 The reviews have now been given out."
41
42 Is that common, that most people are rated as 2? That is
43 the second highest raise, is it not?
44 A. Yes, it is; that is correct.
45
46 Q. Is that common, that most people get the second highest
47 raise?
48 A. Yes. It is a function of the training programme, if it
49 is properly implemented, that people will become proficient
50 quicker; consequently, they will have a higher rating at an
51 early stage.
52
53 Q. But you cannot remember what percentage of people would be
54 rated as 2?
55 A. No. It is a long time ago.
56
57 Q. The second rate would be a 10 pence increase; that is
58 correct, is it not?
59 A. Yes, from memory, that is correct.
60
