Day 301 - 15 Nov 96 - Page 39
1
2 That is where trade unions are their bread and butter, is
3 to ensure good basic rates for their members and to
4 negotiate to that effect. I think Mr. Nicholson is
5 recognising there that pay would be an issue that he would
6 rather not deal with trade unions about.
7
8 He said that if the majority of the staff of a restaurant
9 had an election and voted to be represented by a trade
10 union, then they would be represented by a trade union, it
11 has never occurred. That was 116, page 34, line 24.
12 This is an interesting reflection, because people do have a
13 right to elect shop stewards and have their own
14 organisation representation at work, at the lowest level of
15 shifts or shop and quite a number of industries have that
16 set-up.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: When you say they have a right, where does
19 the right come from?
20
21 MR. MORRIS: The right comes from their ability to force the
22 management or the company or whatever to recognise it.
23 What I am saying is that trade unionism is not just about
24 having national officials who negotiate with the company on
25 a national level; it is about the very basic shift
26 representation and ability to organise and communicate, not
27 only within one work place, but also within shifts, and
28 quite a number of industries have that kind of system.
29 Obviously, the general drift of the last 10 years is to
30 kind of smash the trade unions in this country, and that
31 battle will continue.
32
33 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not ----
34
35 MR. MORRIS: But no thanks to the government or anybody else
36 -----
37
38 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I cannot have that. Stay out of
39 politics, with a big P. I know there are some matters
40 which are bound to go into politics with a small one. But
41 -----
42
43 MR. MORRIS: What I am trying to say is that trade unionism is
44 not some kind of everybody else sits down and you all work
45 it out together. This is a real -- it is a conflict that
46 happens in the work place. And I think Mr. Pearson
47 discussed this, where it is not as simple as -- well,
48 anyway.
49
50 All I am saying is that he is recognising there,
51 Mr. Nicholson, that people should have that right to be
52 represented at the shop level. Later, Mr. Preston got into
53 that sort of like conundrum as well, when he started to
54 recognise that and he talked about a national -----
55
56 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is a bit of a conundrum, because even
57 your own witnesses said there is a big problem with
58 unionisation anyway, because of the nature of the workforce
59 and the turnover. You say McDonald's have put all sorts of
60 obstacles in the way, but what I got out of your two
