Day 124 - 10 May 95 - Page 12
1 have come from our young people, our crew people. We have
2 management meetings, crew meetings, rap sessions, informal
3 meetings. So there is give and take. The communication
4 that I speak of is not one-sided. It is not one way; it is
5 two-way. There is no emasculation of personality, in my
6 view, in that relationship.
7
8 Q. Is it not also true that young people, who have just left
9 school, generally have not had any experience of work
10 before; is that correct, by definition?
11 A. For many young people, yes.
12
13 Q. It is their first job.
14 A. It is their first job, and I can tell you -----
15
16 Q. Hang on, otherwise we will not be finished by Friday.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not want to limit anything which is
19 important to say, but I think probably, having come this
20 far through your evidence, where you have had an
21 opportunity to say the way you feel about a number of
22 general considerations, if you just answer Mr. Morris'
23 question as shortly as you can, add anything you think is
24 absolutely vital. You are, obviously, a man with a
25 facility for language, and you will remember when you said
26 something before, and there is no need to say it again.
27
28 MR. MORRIS: Young people are often, when they leave school,
29 looking for an identity; would that be fair to say?
30 A. That would be fair to say, yes.
31
32 Q. They are also, in terms of the world of work, and all the
33 age group that do work, a particularly vulnerable section
34 of the workforce because they have not had any experience;
35 would that be fair to say?
36 A. Would you repeat that question again?
37
38 Q. In terms of the fact they have had no experience in the
39 world of work, they are particularly vulnerable because
40 they cannot judge what they are doing in comparison to
41 previous experience? Would that be fair to say?
42 A. I think it is fair to say that they are certainly
43 inexperienced. To say they are vulnerable, I do not know
44 if that is the case. I would say they are certainly open
45 to suggestions, open to good ideas. It has been my
46 experience that the young people that you speak of that
47 have not had any experience, whether they are still in high
48 school, they are high school drop-outs or just out of high
49 school, many of them, most of them, are looking to find
50 their way in life.
51
52 Q. Is that ----
53 A. They want support, they need mentorship. In many
54 cases, the McDonald's experience has provided that,
55 particularly disadvantaged youth.
56
57 Q. Is that one of the reasons that McDonald's positively
58 recruits from young people?
59 A. We have a diverse workforce.
60
