Day 174 - 17 Oct 95 - Page 08

     
     1        able to produce the Irish newspaper and I followed what
     2        Neill L.J. said, I might well have allowed it to come back
     3        in anyway.
     4
     5   MR. RAMPTON:  I am not complaining about that.  I think we have
     6        hit the buffers now.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There we are.  Let me just complete my note.
     9        At some stage, I would be grateful if someone would check
    10        my bundle, which I have not marked in any significant way
    11        at all, and make sure it is the same as the witness one.
    12
    13   MR. RAMPTON:  Mrs. Brinley-Codd will do it during the five
    14        minute break.
    15
    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL: There is no urgency about it.
    17
    18   MR. RAMPTON:  It is just that otherwise we forget.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.  I will leave it out on the top there.
    21
    22   MR. MORRIS:  (To the witness)  Is it true that you had said
    23        previously during the strike, not at the end but towards
    24        the beginning of the strike, that you would not be bound by
    25        the decisions of the Labour Court or you were not
    26        interested in referring any matters to the Labour Court?
    27        A.  No, I cannot recall that.  I can recall two
    28        communications being made to the union to negotiate, which
    29        were turned down.
    30
    31   Q.   Which ---
    32        A.  -- which were turned down.
    33
    34   Q.   I am talking about the Labour Court.
    35
    36   MR. JUSTICE BELL: I think what you are saying -- we can see it
    37        from the correspondence -- is that you were saying: "We do
    38        not see why we should involve the Labour Court; why do we
    39        not talk to you?"  It is not the words you used, but that
    40        is the gist of it?
         A.  Yes, my Lord.
    42
    43   MR. MORRIS:  I am talking about while the strike was on, at the
    44        beginning of the strike.
    45        A.  Yes.  Are you quoting -- may I ask, are you quoting
    46        from a newspaper?
    47
    48   Q.   I am asking you what was the Company's attitude to the
    49        Labour Court at the beginning of the dispute when they were
    50        on strike? 
    51        A.  We did not go to the Labour Court at the beginning of 
    52        the strike. 
    53
    54   Q.   No, but that is because you did not want to be bound by any
    55        recommendations or decisions by the Labour Court, did you?
    56        A.  No, we did not want to go to the Labour Court at that
    57        particular time, because we had an extremely violent and
    58        vicious situation on our doorstep.
    59
    60   Q.   You did not want to go to the Labour Court, did you,