Day 003 - 30 Jun 94 - Page 25


     
     1        or more in this country?
              A.  At least, yes.
     2
         Q.   What do you define as management level?
     3        A.  Assistant managers right up through restaurant
              manager, moving on into middle management, supervision,
     4        operations manager.  In fact, many of those people who
              started as members of staff in our restaurants are
     5        franchisees today, having been given an opportunity to
              earn for themselves in a business environment.
     6
         Q.   At what level of employment does a person change from
     7        being hourly paid to being paid a salary?
              A.  Normally, second assistant manager.
     8
         Q.   That is in a restaurant?
     9        A.  In a restaurant, yes.  Until then there are members of
              staff, then there is an hourly paid group of managers
    10        I call floor managers.  Some other countries around the
              world term them "swing managers", but that is where it
    11        changes, moving from that level to second assistant.
 
    12   Q.   Right.  Now may we pass on, Mr. Preston:  You will have
              noticed the heading to this passage:  "No unions
    13        allowed".  I will come back to that.  "To improve this",
              that is to say, "low wages and minimal promotion
    14        opportunities, long shifts in hot, smelly, noisy
              environments", and so on, "through Trade Union negotiation
    15        is very difficult:  there is no union specifically for
              these workers, and the ones they could join show little
    16        interest in the problems of part-timers (mostly women. A
              recent survey", ignore the survey, Mr. Preston, "of
    17        workers in burger-restaurants found that 80 per cent said
              they needed union help over pay and conditions.  Another
    18        difficulty is that the 'kitchen trade'", and "kitchen
              trade" is in quotes, "has a high proportion of workers
    19        from ethnic minority groups who, with little change of
              getting work elsewhere, are wary of being sacked - as many
    20        have been - for attempting union organisation".
 
    21        I have two questions about that, Mr. Preston.  I am going
              to ask you more about your equal opportunities policy
    22        later.  Is it true that there is a high proportion of
              workers from ethnic minority groups within your
    23        organisation?
              A.  Well, there are certainly some, but I would say by and
    24        large the employment profile of our restaurants pretty
              much mirrors the society or the locale in which the store
    25        is located.  It rather typifies the location around it.
              So if that is high, I suppose if we are in an all 
    26        caucasian area or an all black area, you would probably 
              find that to be the makeup the staff across the width and 
    27        breadth of the company.
 
    28   Q.   Then the next bit:  "... are wary of being sacked as many
              have been for attempting union organisation".  Does
    29        McDonald's, Mr. Preston, sack people for attempting union
              organisation?
    30        A.  No, it has never been attempted here actually.
 

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