Day 195 - 04 Dec 95 - Page 21
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do you want to read -----
2
3 MS. STEEL: I can do. I do not mind reading it, but it is all
4 in the first statement on page 3 anyway.
5
6 MR. JUSTICE BELL: The thing is I either leave it in because it
7 is read or I cross it out because it is not.
8
9 MS. STEEL: I will read it out: "There wasn't actually a
10 conversation, someone had talked on a previous shift about
11 unions. Trudie had heard about it and she asked: 'Who was
12 talking about it?' No-one replied. She then went on to
13 say: 'We do not want any talk of unions'. This happened
14 in about April or May 1987". With the corrections that you
15 have made to this continuation statement, are you happy for
16 that to be taken as your evidence?
17 A. I am reasonably happy, but I would have liked to have
18 it for longer and had a look at it to probably iron out the
19 inconsistencies because I literally have read it, you know,
20 once or twice probably.
21
22 Q. Shall I go on to the next one then?
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will have the five-minute break now.
25
26 (Short adjournment)
27
28 MS. STEEL: If we go to the third statement that you made: Have
29 you got that there?
30 A. Yes.
31
32 Q. "Supplementary statement regarding McDonald's working
33 practices. I would like to add to my previous statement of
34 25th March 1988 the following points: 1. Hygiene. 1.1
35 I remember that frozen food was to be cooked from frozen.
36 However, I recall numerous occasions where, due to various
37 reasons, e.g. break down of freezers, meat or fish was
38 accidental defrosted. To reduce waste, in most cases this
39 defrosted meat or fish was cooked and served to the
40 customers. This happened with the knowledge of the
41 Managers.
42
43 1.2. Searing is the action of pressing the frozen meat
44 against the hot grill with a metal instrument during the
45 cooking process in order to seal it. This was said to
46 produce better quality burgers and reduce the cooking
47 time. Proper searing of pieces of frozen meat requires
48 time and quite a bit of strength, specially if the meat is
49 thick like quarter pounders.
50
51 Without proper searing, the meat would still be raw in the
52 middle after being removed from the grill. I recall this
53 happening frequently during the busy periods or when a
54 physically weak crew member was put on the grill. I also
55 recall bringing the matter to the attention of the
56 management on various occasions.
57
58 In reply, I was always told that this was OK since the meat
59 continues cooking for a few seconds in the heated storage
60 cabinet after being removed from the grill. This I thought
