Day 140 - 22 Jun 95 - Page 04


     
     1        A.  Correct, my Lord.
     2
     3   Q.   But the disturbance had arisen out of something to do with
     4        the union?
     5        A.  Yes, my Lord.
     6
     7   Q.   I put it in those neutral terms.  It seems to me -- tell me
     8        if I am making the wrong assumption -- that you could see
     9        ways in which that could be construed as being sacked over
    10        union activity, because the disturbance had arisen against
    11        that background?  You were saying, "Well, you ought not to
    12        have sacked them", and he was saying, "Well, they created a
    13        disturbance, I am entitled to."  Was that the general tenor
    14        of the discussion?
    15        A.  Exactly, my Lord -- because I think his lawyer was
    16        saying that there are rules against making a disturbance,
    17        whatever the reason is, and that was why they were sacked.
    18        But, as my Lord indicated, they were talking about having a
    19        union vote.
    20
    21   MS. STEEL:  So the disturbance was the crew workers talking
    22        about having a union vote?
    23        A.  No.  The disturbance was, one particular young man --
    24        who, by the way, is a lawyer, a crew person who was a
    25        lawyer, and I found that interesting -- was making a big
    26        speech and running around creating a disturbance among the
    27        customers and among the crew, and he was shouting in his
    28        speech that they should have a vote, a union vote, a vote
    29        among the crew.
    30
    31   Q.   That is what you were told by the -----
    32        A.  Yes.
    33
    34   MR. MORRIS:  And had been distributing leaflets, that leaflets
    35        were being distributed?
    36        A.  I knew there was a disturbance.  I believe there are
    37        leaflets associated with it, but I am not entirely sure,
    38        because we focused on the fact that he created problems, as
    39        far as his activities with other people, both customers and
    40        crew, and that is what he and I were discussing.
    41
    42   Q.   So the manager, the joint venture partner, was creating
    43        problems by not allowing union activity, was he?
    44        A.  No.  I just felt there was a better way of handling all
    45        of this, and that is -- in my opinion, he should not sack
    46        anyone in that context at all, in my opinion.  He may have
    47        a legal right to do it in Spain; he had rules against
    48        disturbances, but I do not think we need to have -- in the
    49        US you may call it make a big federal case out of it.  The
    50        employees wanted a vote, and that is what they were looking 
    51        for; and he should reinstate these people and, forthwith, 
    52        go to having the vote.  There is no need -- I use terms -- 
    53        we sell hamburgers, we do not want extraneous problems, and
    54        there was no need to make this into a problem.  Let us just
    55        proceed, reinstate them and have the vote and be done with
    56        the problem.
    57
    58   Q.   So the manager was making a problem by not allowing the
    59        employees to have an union vote?
    60        A.  Are you testifying or am I testifying?

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