Day 119 - 02 May 95 - Page 14

     
     1        A.  That is not my knowledge of it.  I mean, different
     2        stores may operate in a different way.  The essence is to
     3        try and get people who want to represent the crew in as
     4        members of the rap session.
     5
     6   Q.   The subjects covered and the opinions expressed during that
     7        rap session, were they fairly typical?
     8        A.  No.  I think the crew were very muted.  The rap
     9        sessions, the few that I have attended and certainly rap
    10        sessions notes that I have read (and they are many) are
    11        much more livelier than that.  There is a lot more fun at
    12        the rap session than was indicated there.  That is why
    13        I have a feeling that the camera has probably inhibited the
    14        crew.
    15
    16   Q.   But apart from the tenor of the session ---
    17        A.  The subject matter dealt -----
    18
    19   Q.  -- the subject matter and opinions expressed were fairly
    20        typical?
         A.  Yes.
    22
    23   Q.   So it is typical when the staff were asked:  "Is there one
    24        thing you can improve in the company?" and they said:
    25        "Pay", that would be fairly typical, would it?
    26        A.  It would be one of the things that is often mentioned.
    27        It is not typical.  It is not always pay, but pay is often
    28        mentioned.
    29
    30   Q.   Is it typical?
    31        A.  You show me any working man who feels he is getting
    32        enough pay.
    33
    34   Q.   Especially on the minimum wage?
    35        A.  I do not feel I am getting enough pay.
    36
    37   Q.   It is different, though, for someone who -- you were
    38        earning about £45,000 -----
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not follow that up, because I am entitled
         to take judicial notice of the fact that wherever you get
    42        people talking about their job, they talk about their pay,
    43        and it does not matter where in life they are, one is
    44        stunned if one hears someone saying they are being paid
    45        well or too much.  It is normally a bit of a bleat about
    46        being paid too little.  I am going to start this from
    47        ground up in so far as whether the pay is low or not.
    48
    49   MS. STEEL:  I do think there is a bit of a difference between
    50        somebody earning £45,000 a year and somebody earning --- 
    51 
    52   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do not worry about it. 
    53
    54   MS. STEEL:  -- somebody earning £3 an hour or something like
    55        that.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have to confess it is a very long time
    58        since I have worked for an hourly wage doing physical work,
    59        and then it tended only to be for a few weeks at a time,
    60        but some things will not have changed since the beginning