Day 122 - 05 May 95 - Page 35
1 Q. Basically, you are paying the 16 and 17 year-olds less
2 because you are paying them what you can get away with,
3 rather than what they deserve for their performance?
4 A. No. We are paying them what we think is commensurate
5 with their age, with their locality and with the work they
6 are doing.
7
8 Q. That is the case across the board for the crew members at
9 McDonald's; you pay them what you think that you can get
10 away with?
11 A. No, I did not say that.
12
13 Q. Or what you need to incite them ---
14 A. No.
15
16 Q. -- to work that much harder, to increase your profits?
17 A. No. The benefits of joining McDonald's as a 16 and 17
18 year-old, as a first time employer, we teach them work
19 ethics; we teach them the benefits of being a team worker;
20 we increase their knowledge of the workplace and we --
21 I think they benefit from it as people.
22
23 Q. You choose to employ a high percentage of young workers so
24 that you can exploit them for lower wages and make greater
25 profits.
26 A. No, I do not think we employ a high percentage of young
27 workers. I think we employ a high percentage of young
28 people, and over 18 year-olds, they get the adult rate.
29
30 Q. There was something else I wanted to ask you about in pink
31 volume XII.
32 A. Yes.
33
34 Q. If you could turn to tab 51B, please?
35 A. Is that page 715B?
36
37 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It starts with 715B.
38
39 MS. STEEL: If you could turn to page 715D, please?
40 A. Yes.
41
42 Q. The final sentence on that page -- this is a memo dated
43 26th January 1989 from you to all licensees?
44 A. Yes.
45
46 Q. The final sentence says: "We know of at least one borough
47 council who has specifically" -----
48 A. Sorry?
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The very last two lines, 715D.
51 A. Oh, yes, yes.
52
53 MS. STEEL: "We know of at least one borough council who has
54 specifically prohibited the employment of children in
55 McDonald's Restaurants". Which borough council was that?
56 A. I cannot remember now.
57
58 Q. Why was it that they specifically prohibited the employment
59 of children in McDonald's restaurants?
60 A. I have no idea. I do not know.
