Day 172 - 12 Oct 95 - Page 39

     
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     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL: You need not worry about that.
     3
     4   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  That could have been said to him. "My belief
     5        was that the Manager did not want employees to be
     6        comfortable in the room", in paragraph 10.  That could
     7        quite clearly have been something the Manager was
     8        saying: "We do not want people hanging around in there.
     9        Don't make yourself comfortable", whatever.  In fact, that
    10        is something that strikes true to me -- which takes us to,
    11        I believe, paragraph 15.
    12
    13   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
    14
    15   MS. STEEL:  This one ties in with the supplementary one on
    16        page 3 about it being common knowledge; and I think
    17        Mr. Rampton accepted the first one.  He said that since he
    18        had heard it from management it was admissible.
    19
    20   MR. RAMPTON:  No.  I accepted the first one as it stood in
         isolation from the second one.  What I said was that if you
    22        look at the second one, the first one is revealed as bogus.
    23
    24   MS. STEEL:  I would just like to say I think that Mr. Rampton is
    25        wrong, because the two are not mutually exclusive.  For
    26        example, if the management went round telling all the crew
    27        that staff costs were not to exceed 15 per cent of
    28        turnover, that is why they could not be paid more, or
    29        something like that, then it would become common knowledge.
    30
    31   MR. JUSTICE BELL: At the moment, my inclination is to leave that
    32        paragraph 15 in, because it appears to rely on what someone
    33        in management said, but to take out "target figures",
    34        because that sounds very much to me -- it does not add
    35        anything anyway and, quite apart from that, it looks like
    36        hearsay.  But if I rule to that effect, it does not hurt
    37        you in any way.
    38
    39   MS. STEEL:   Right.  I think, though, the principle about common
    40        knowledge is an important principle.  I mean, I know that
         this particular point does not make any difference to us
    42        but, for example, the common knowledge about hostility to
    43        trade unions, or something like that, if that is something
    44        paraded down because management keep saying, you know,
    45        "Unions are not welcome here", or there is rumours
    46        circulating to that effect, then the common knowledge would
    47        be admissible.  Obviously, it is a matter of what weight
    48        you want to attach to it, but I think it could be
    49        admissible.
    50 
    51   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  I think that the management technique, where 
    52        they do not want to put something on paper, to use 
    53        rumours -----
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, we have to stick to this argument about
    56        hearsay.  I am just looking at Mr. Magill's statement.
    57
    58   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  Well, our submission would be that the common
    59        knowledge referred to would have emanated from management,
    60        and it does have a weight beyond just individuals being