Day 003 - 30 Jun 94 - Page 23
1
Q. Can we pass on: "No unions allowed. Workers in catering
2 do badly in terms of pay and conditions. They are at work
in the evenings and at weekends, doing long shifts in hot,
3 smelly, noisy environments". Pause there. What about the
length of hours that people work at McDonald's?
4 A. Well, the average person in McDonald's, I think,
today, if you look through the numbers, is employed
5 something like 25 or 26 hours a week in total. There are
some, a small nucleus, who become our core staff who may
6 be 35 to 40, but by and large the hourly paid staff work
in those parameters. There are others who work, as I say,
7 the one Saturday afternoon.
8 Q. What about the length of shifts?
A. The shifts tends to be eight hours maximum. For the
9 students, the ones who work after school, like, say, this
evening, for example, some of the more suburban stores,
10 there were will be staff who come coming into work at
4 o'clock and finish at 8.00. It would be normal to see a
11 four-hour shift in the week days.
12 Q. Read the next sentence, please: "Wages are low and
chances of promotion minimal". Can I ask you to comment
13 on those two assertions separately, please? First, the
level of wages?
14 A. Well, it says wages are low. That demands a
comparison -- low compared to what? I think that
15 McDonald's wages in terms of minimums in the past required
by law are exceeded. They are for part-time people
16 available for short periods of time highly competitive.
By and large we are dictated to by the High Street as to
17 what is available. We are in competition with other
retailers for what is out there. We are looking for the
18 very best we can get and hire on that basis.
19 Q. Wage levels in this country, Mr. Preston, are no longer
regulated, are they?
20 A. That is correct.
21 Q. When that happened, did McDonald's make a decision for
narrow commercial reasons to bring the wages down or keep
22 them depressed?
A. No, wages have steadily risen over time as we compete
23 on the high street for quality people.
24 Q. Is it the market then -- have I understood it correctly --
that dictates the amount you pay?
25 A. Well, initially, no. It was the law for a minimum,
but today it is the market; if you want good people, you
26 have to pay a fair wage.
27 Q. You may not be able to answer this question; if you
cannot, please say so. Do you know to what extent people
28 trained as workers at McDonald's have a value in the
marketplace when they leave?
29 A. I hear countless stories from people who work for us
in the past and our paths cross again in the future,
30 saying to me that time at McDonald's, the elements geared
to basic work disciplines, timekeeping, team work, health
