Day 120 - 03 May 95 - Page 10

     
     1
     2   MR. MORRIS:  I could think of a hundred reasons for joining a
     3        union, none of which the Company would appreciate.
     4
     5   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is that not what I put to you, the nub of
     6        it?
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why not just put that to Mr. Nicholson?
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  I could do that.  I mean, I have got other --
    13        I want to go on to East Ham first, really.  If we move on
    14        to East Ham.
    15        A.  Can I just make an amendment to something I said?  You
    16        mentioning East Ham has triggered it.  There were less than
    17        12 at the Hackney store.
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I have put down, and it is, in any event,
    20        recorded, there were only a dozen people there, and you say
         only two or three wanted to join a union?
    22        A.  Yes, I think there were less than 12.  East Ham was
    23        where I remember there were 12.
    24
    25   Q.   Do you know what the sort of crew would be on a shift at
    26        that sort of time at Hackney?  Could you give us any idea
    27        at all?
    28        A.  No.  I would have thought the store had a crew in total
    29        of about 60, but these people were not on duty.
    30
    31   MR. RAMPTON:  Looking at those payroll sheets we have got in
    32        1993, in 1993 (the end of 1993) there were 52 people
    33        recorded as crew at Hackney.
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is very helpful.
    36
    37   MR. RAMPTON:  That would be the same in 1985.  I will look up
    38        East Ham, my Lord.
    39
    40   MR. MORRIS:  The two or three which you claimed spoke up to the
         Head of Personnel and former Head of Security about wanting
    42        to join a union -- were the others, if you remember the
    43        meeting, content to let them speak or did they say:  "We do
    44        not agree with that.  We are not really interested"?
    45        A.  I think one or two of the others -- some of them
    46        remained quiet.  You always find that at these meetings.
    47        Some never say anything.  But there were more than two or
    48        three that spoke, but only two or three that I got the
    49        impression were really interested.
    50 
    51   Q.   They would have to be really interested to turn up to the 
    52        meeting, would they not? 
    53        A.  Others did, but they did not raise any points.
    54
    55   Q.   You said the people that were there came especially to the
    56        meeting?
    57        A.  Yes.
    58
    59   Q.   They were not people who were scheduled at the time?
    60        A.  There was none of them in crew uniform.