Day 310 - 04 Dec 96 - Page 14


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   So, you say that cannot even be taken into
     2        account on justification?
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:   It could on justification, yes.  It could on
     5        justification, certainly.  If it were widespread practice
     6        at McDonald's, and if the sting of the allegation of fact
     7        in the leaflet is that McDonald's treat their workforce
     8        badly as a matter of fact, then that would be -----
     9
    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Even if it did not come in under "bad pay",
    11        it would come in under "bad conditions".
    12
    13   MR. RAMPTON:   "Bad conditions", it certainly would, yes.  It
    14        would be a salient feature of their bad treatment of their
    15        employees.
    16
    17        There is one point, my Lord, I should make.  I submitted,
    18        I think, because I have had to by reason of the context,
    19        that the phrase or the clause "wages are low and chances"
    20        -- sorry -- "workers in catering do badly in terms of pay
    21        and conditions.  Wages are low".  Those are necessarily
    22        statements of fact for two reasons, the two reasons which
    23        I have given in the submission which I need not repeat
    24        here.
    25
    26        There is one other feature which I have just noticed and I
    27        am sorry I did not notice it before.  The last part of that
    28        paragraph says:  "Wages are low and chances of promotion
    29        minimal".  The latter part of that sentence cannot be a
    30        matter of opinion.  It is either true or it is not.  That
    31        tends to suggest to the reader that the assertion that the
    32        wages are low in the same sentence is also an assertion of
    33        fact.  They are both governed by the same word "are" .
    34
    35   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   What about asking crew if they are prepared
    36        to go home early?  That, clearly, can be prayed in aid ---
    37
    38   MR. RAMPTON:   For justification.
    39
    40   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   -- for justification.
    41
    42   MR. RAMPTON:   As far as it goes, yes.
    43
    44   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Would it come in if it were comment?
    45
    46   MR. RAMPTON:   No, I do not believe it would, because it cannot
    47        fit into long shifts because it is the opposite, and it
    48        certainly does not fit into hot, smelly, noisy
    49        environments.
    50 
    51   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, it is only if it were bad pay. 
    52 
    53   MR. RAMPTON:   Yes.  It would be a feature of bad pay if people
    54        were being unfairly deprived of what they thought their
    55        entitlement ought to be.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But is it something which needs a reference
    58        at least for it to be taken into account as to whether
    59        comment -----
    60

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