Day 001 - 28 Jun 94 - Page 12
1 promotion minimal." Again, my Lord, two false statements
in one sentence.
2
"To improve this through Trade Union negotiation is very
3 difficult: there is no union specifically for these
workers, and the ones they could join show little interest
4 in the problems of part-timers (mostly women). A recent
survey of workers in burger-restaurants found that 80%
5 said they needed union help over pay and conditions.
Another difficulty is that the 'kitchen trade' has a high
6 proportion of workers from ethnic minority groups who,
with little chance of getting work elsewhere, are wary of
7 being sacked - as many have been - for attempting union
organisation."
8
My Lord, if that is intended to suggest McDonald's have
9 ever sacked anyone, never mind someone from an ethnic
minority, for wanting to join a union, it is totally
10 false.
11 Top of the next column: "McDonald's have a policy of
preventing unionisation by getting rid of pro-union
12 workers." As I have said, completely false.
13 "So far this has succeeded everywhere in the world except
Sweden, and in Dublin after a long struggle."
14
Heading: "Trained to sweat". Blob: "It is obvious that
15 all large chain-stores and junk-food giants depend for
their fat profits on the labour of young people.
16 McDonald's is no exception: three-quarters of its workers
are under 21. The production-line system deskills the
17 work itself: anybody can grill a hamburger, and cleaning
toilets or smiling at customers needs no training. So
18 there is no need to employ chefs or qualified staff - just
anybody prepared to work for low wages.
19
As there is no legally-enforced minimum wage in Britain,
20 McDonald's can pay what they like, helping to depress wage
levels in the catering trade still further. They say they
21 are providing jobs for school-leavers and take them on
regardless of sex or race. The truth is" -- a clear
22 indication that McDonald's are lying about this --
"McDonald's are only interested in recruiting cheap
23 labour - which always means that disadvantaged groups,
women and black people especially, are even more exploited
24 by industry than they are already."
25 Again, my Lord, if that is an allegation (which your
Lordship may think it plainly is) that McDonald's
26 discriminate against women and black people for the sake
of their profits, then again it is a wholly false
27 allegation.
28 Then finally this, I will not read the last page of the
leaflet because it does not add anything except one
29 sentence: "Everything must go. What's wrong with
McDonald's is also wrong with all the junk-food chains
30 like Wimpy, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Wendy, etc. All of
them hide their ruthless exploitation of resources,
