Day 194 - 01 Dec 95 - Page 12
1 bit, in the light of the evidence I have heard.
2
3 MR. MORRIS: (To the witness): Can I ask what the impression
4 was from that statement from that manager?
5 A. OK. There were three of us who heard what the manager
6 said, and we -----
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Is that what led to you saying a moment or so
9 ago that you had fear for your jobs if you joined a union?
10 A. That was certainly part of it; but as soon as we
11 discussed it, it was sort of known amongst the crew that it
12 was a problem. So, as soon as it was first discussed
13 amongst ourselves, people said, "Watch your backs", sort of
14 thing. This was the first time a manager had said
15 something like that, OK.
16
17 To answer your question, the impression it gave to us, we
18 were not entirely clear how to take it. We were not
19 totally sure if she was telling us in terms of friendly
20 advice, as in "Watch yourself", in terms of, if she was
21 doing it for our benefit or if she was stating it as a
22 Company position.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
25
26 MR. MORRIS: So, you were not sure if it was a direct threat
27 from her or a friendly piece of advice to watch your back?
28 A. That is right.
29
30 Q. But the conclusion would be the same?
31 A. The conclusion -- it certainly had the effect of making
32 us feel fearful or more fearful, more intimidated, in terms
33 of whether we actually joined a union and tried to form a
34 branch.
35
36 Q. Did you hear of any meetings taking place, with the Head of
37 Personnel, Mr. Nicholson, coming to the store? Were you
38 invited to any meeting, or whatever?
39 A. I was not; and I can say that there was not a single
40 meeting that I am aware of in my entire year of employment.
41
42 Q. Of any kind: no rap sessions or crew meetings, or whatever?
43 A. That is right.
44
45 Q. Assuming that Mr. Nicholson is telling the truth, can you
46 think of any reason why -- would you know if -- I mean, can
47 you think of any reason why you would not have found out
48 there was a meeting?
49 A. I believe I would have known had a meeting taken
50 place. I did not have any holidays, for instance; I did
51 not have any periods away during the time of working
52 there. I would have attended a meeting; even if I was not
53 scheduled to work, I would have come in to hear what people
54 had to say.
55
56 Q. If you found out about it?
57 A. Yes. So, I did not know about it in advance, and I did
58 not know about it when it was happening, and I did not find
59 out about it afterwards, which leads me to believe that it
60 either did not happen or, somehow, steps were taken so that
