Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 28
1 through, so he was obviously tired, because he carried on
2 from his ordinary shift and then worked through the night.
3
4 So I think there was that kind of exhaustion of workers who
5 were doing that kind of number of hours on the trot and
6 keeping going at that level of pressure.
7
8 I mean, I think, probably, there were just not enough
9 workers to deal with that situation. Whether that was
10 because people had not turned up or because, you know, it
11 is done at the lowest level of labour, I would not care to
12 say. But it seemed to me that there were not enough people
13 able to cope with the immense operation that it is --
14 because it is a huge operation; I mean, it really is.
15 Until you actually see the store being stripped down and
16 put back together again, you do not realise the immensity
17 of it. There is a lot of people -- not a lot of people --
18 there are few people working extremely hard to try and do
19 that, and intense pressure on them to do it; and it is
20 very, very hard for them to keep going.
21
22 Q. I will carry on reading the statement.
23
24 "During the lunch and early evening rush times, staff were
25 hassled, stood over by the shift managers and nagged
26 endlessly. I saw members of staff driven to tears. On one
27 occasion, I saw two crew members working on the Big Macs
28 being watched and shouted at by four supervisors."
29
30 Was that the situation you mentioned before, that you were
31 stopped from filming?
32 A. There was a moment in the filming, yes, when I think
33 there were so many managers -----
34
35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You are being asked by Mr. Morris whether
36 this is the occasion you had in mind?
37 A. That is the incident that I had in mind, yes. Sorry.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: There is a reference to that in the notes on
40 page 18 of the notes, according to my records here.
41
42 "At the Croydon store, one of the lads, a full-time
43 worker, some 18 years old, drank a carton of milk during
44 the height of the pressure on his shift. You are only
45 supposed to drink and eat McDonald's food during food
46 breaks. He was instantly sacked as a result of this."
47
48 This is what you saw, is it?
49 A. Yes.
50
51 Q. How do you know he was sacked?
52 A. Because the manager said: "You are sacked. Leave the
53 store."
54
55 Q. Sorry, the reference of that page 18 relates to the staff
56 member being driven to tears, not being shouted at by four
57 supervisors. If I can continue with the statement:
58
59 "At the Strand store, I never saw anyone allowed to leave
60 at the official end of their shift. The pattern was to
