The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has heard that Guinness delivery truck drivers have signed a joint statement saying the practice of delivering undocumented barrels was commonplace and continued at the company after 15 of their colleagues were massively fired.
The workers made redundant have filed complaints under the Unfair Dismissals Act against the delivery subcontractor of Guinness brewer Diageo in Dublin, Shannon Warehousing and Transport Ltd, trading as STL Logistics.
The sixth in the series of claims, that of Lucan man Stanislav Gradinaru, was summoned to a remote hearing yesterday.
The massive looting followed covert surveillance by Diageo security agents at a pub in Dublin’s north-east inner city, leading to their employer accusing the men of delivering “unscheduled and undocumented deliveries of Diageo products” between December 2018 and February 2019 .
HR advisor Brendan McGrath, who appeared for STL Logistics, said 20 such deliveries were seen to the same pub during the operation and about 70 delivery customers were interviewed, none of whom “justified or clarified why Guinness trucks stopped at that pub”, he said.
He said Mr Gradinaru and a colleague delivered a single keg on February 15, 2019 — the same day, two other STL Logistics keg trucks had made unscheduled deliveries to the same location, he said.
Gradinaru told his bosses it was done at the request of another pub on the north side of the capital – where he said a bartender told Diageo investigators he had “asked the Guinness crew to drop two Heineken kegs” as the competitor’s delivery drivers had been “difficult and useless” when asked.
But Mr McGrath said the pub owner and cellar man both denied any such arrangement, saying there had been no barter agreement with the supervised pub.
Mr Gradinaru “accepted he did an unscheduled drop but claims he did it on behalf of another pub,” Mr McGrath said.
“From a procedural point of view, the company went above and beyond, and it was reasonable for them to conclude that Stanislav delivered a vessel without proper authorization and without proper documentation on a day when it was not delivered on the day of [pub under surveillance]†
As with the previous cases in the series, Mr. McGrath said the company would not call witnesses to prove the defense.
Chief Judge Andrew Heavey said he may exercise his “inquisitorial powers” at a later hearing to put questions to the respondent’s representative, STL Logistics operations manager Stephen Cunneen, who appeared at yesterday’s hearing but did not speak.
“Stanislav strenuously and strenuously denies the charges against him,” his lawyer David Byrnes told BL.
He said the arbitrator should not interpret the admission his Mr Gradinaru had made as meaning his client accepts that he was “in breach of a labor obligation or any other obligation,” Mr Byrnes said.
In his evidence, Mr Gradinaru said he was engaged in moving barrels from pub to pub at the request of tax collectors on his routes from his “first days” on the job in 2008, when the drivers were still directly employed by Diageo. , adding that he understood it was a long-standing practice.
Most of his on-the-job training came from senior drivers and helpers, who told him his job was to [the] extra mile for the customers, because you are the face of the company”.
He said he delivered a supervised barrel to the pub on 15 February at the request of a bar manager at a named pub in north Dublin, which he later said was a 10-minute drive away.
“Why? Was it planned?” asked his attorney David Byrnes BL.
“Because I was asked – well, my mate [was asked] – to drop two barrels back to the [pub under surveillance] when it’s on its way,’ replied Mr Gradinaru.
“We had no problem with that then. We didn’t know it would be a criminal offence,” he added.
“Even today, my coworkers — or my ex-colleagues — still do this practice,” he said.
Mr Byrnes said a petition, which was submitted as evidence for the hearing, was signed by 18 staff and temporary workers between August and October 2019.
In the petition, the workers stated that they too had carried out unplanned and undocumented keg drops, had not been penalized for doing or stopping it, and the practice continued at the company, Mr Byrnes argued.
“Nobody in the company told them to stop. Not only my colleagues but even there are signatures of the colleagues of the bureau. “Everyone did this exercise for us, years before us,” said Mr. Gradinaru.
“In busy times when pubs [are] running out they borrow kegs between places where they have friends or know the manager or whatever. They ask us to bring them back because it is not a problem for us if we are not busy,” he said.
He said that since he delivered deliveries at the rate of 200 barrels a day and visited about a hundred pubs a week, it was “difficult” to recall specific requests from tax collectors for ad hoc cask drops when he was questioned during the disciplinary process.
“Everyone who knew me in those 11 years now comes to me and asks why I don’t work there. I still feel like I don’t know why I got fired – just because I went [the] extra mile for tax collectors,” he said.
He added that he never received a copy of the investigation report and only learned that the other staff had also been investigated when he received his letter of resignation on May 31, 2019.
“They weren’t investigating, they… [were] prosecute,” said Mr Gradinaru.
Mr McCarthy, from STL Logistics, asked why two pubs located close to seven miles across the road are entering into a swap deal.
“The pub next door is your competition. You wouldn’t have a good relationship with them,’ Mr Gradinaru replied.
He added that tax collectors were reluctant to call the office because they would charge an additional delivery.
Arbitrator Andrew Heavey told Mr Gradinaru his evidence was “clear and complete” and thanked him for it.
Two more hearings in the series have been tentatively set for a date in August and are expected to continue through early September
Mr Heavey has said he plans to make a decision in all 11 together by the end of this year.