Day 214 - 01 02 96 - Page 39

 
 

                                                                  DAY 214
 
                                           DAVID ROBERTS, Cross-examined:
 
 
 
     1   Q.   Right.  What were your labour costs?
     2        A.  You want to know the pound figures for when?
     3
     4   Q.   No, what percentage?
     5        A.  It changes from week to week, from day-to-day, month to
     6        month.
     7
     8   Q.   Overall?
     9        A.  I have not got the figures with me -- what, an average
    10        for the whole year or -----
    11
    12   Q.   Yes.
    13        A.  It would be a guess.  I have not got the specific
    14        figure.
    15
    16   Q.   Give us the guess then.
    17        A.  The guess?
    18
    19   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Talking about Heathrow now, are we?
    20
    21   MS. STEEL:   Yes.
    22
    23   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Once Mr. Roberts has become established there
    24        or when?
    25
    26   MS. STEEL:   Throughout the year when you were Manager, year and
    27        a half or whatever it was.
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Was it always the same?
    30        A.  No, it changed.  Obviously, when I took over and I had
    31        to hire people initially, I ran it higher.  That was my
    32        decision.
    33
    34   MS. STEEL:   What was it then?
    35        A.  It was around -- I would say roughly as a guess it is
    36        about 17 and a half per cent.
    37
    38   Q.   Right.  Then you got it down lower?
    39        A.  It reduced as people -- I did not need as many people
    40        working as people were trained up, you know.
    41
    42   Q.   What did it go down to?
    43        A.  I would not like to say a figure because it would not
    44        be an accurate one.  I could not just pluck one out of the
    45        air.
    46
    47   Q.   It went down a couple of per cent or something like that?
    48        A.  Maybe a per cent and a half, something like that.
    49
    50   Q.   What I do not understand is the percentage of labour costs 
    51        went down but the number of people that you were employing 
    52        went up? 
    53        A.  Like I said, I had more part-timers.
    54
    55   Q.   Right.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  There is another part of the equation as well
    58         -- I do not know whether it affects it, but it is all
    59        percentage of something, is it not?
    60
 
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