Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 36
1 then they will come in and have meetings; and if they
2 cannot sort it out, it goes to an additional higher level,
3 which is the TUC and the Federation of Employers; and if
4 they -----
5
6 MR. MORRIS: Hang on. (Pause)
7
8 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes?
9 A. And if they cannot sort it out, then they have the
10 option to bring this matter into the Labour Court, where a
11 regular Norwegian court will act as a Labour Court,
12 actually deciding the case on what is law and what is the
13 agreement, and on the agreement. So, I do not know exactly
14 the legal technicalities, but they actually rule on the
15 agreement, what the agreement says about the dispute.
16
17 MR. MORRIS: What about the representative's rights, in terms of
18 -- what rights do you have as a person working at
19 McDonald's as a representative -- not access to documents
20 or -- what can you actually do to represent on the floor?
21 A. In the spirit of the agreement, you are allowed to take
22 as much time as you need to settle union matters, which
23 means that you can say to McDonald's, "Now I need to have
24 two hours off on Friday. There are some union matters we
25 need to discuss I can work out."
26
27 If there are really important situations that occur right
28 in the work, as you work, you may actually leave your
29 station and take care of it right away, if you deem it to
30 be so serious that it needs immediate attention.
31
32 You can put up posters and you can have information
33 meetings sometimes, during the working hours, without being
34 deducted of pay; and, obviously, any union work you do
35 while you are at work, you are also paid for by
36 McDonald's.
37
38 Q. You talked about posters. Is there some kind of notice
39 board, or something?
40 A. Yes.
41
42 Q. What kind of say do you have over what goes up on the
43 notice board?
44 A. Well, before the agreement, you were not allowed to put
45 up anything; you were given a written warning that if you
46 put up something without first showing it to the managers.
47 But, as a union official, you can put up any poster you
48 like, actually, you know, to inform the workers of anything
49 that you think is important.
50
51 Q. What about the distribution of literature; has anything
52 changed about that?
53 A. No. They do not mind you distributing literature, as
54 long as people do not stand about reading it while they are
55 working, obviously.
56
57 Q. But before the agreement, would they have minded?
58 A. That would be in breach of using the working space for
59 your own personal interests, so you could not do that.
60
