Day 173 - 16 Oct 95 - Page 55
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2 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We are never going to get near precise
3 figures, but if your arithmetic is right and if it is
4 something like 150, then it is 20 per cent and if the
5 figures in Mr. Mehigan's statement are right it is 14 per
6 cent.
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8 MR. MORRIS: But if you have something like 150 to 160 staff, on
9 your figures of percentage of, taking off the managers and
10 admin people, it would be getting down to something like
11 140 to 150 of which, if you say 30 per cent, something
12 round there, were full-time, we are talking about something
13 like 45 to 50 full-timers in the Company at that time; is
14 that correct? That would be quite reasonable?
15 A. Yes, 30 per cent of 150 is 50, yes.
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17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: 45.
18 A. 45
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20 MR. RAMPTON: Before this goes any further, because Mr. Morris
21 has asked the witness to agree to some calculations, which
22 I have to say I think are somewhat wild, with all the best
23 will in the world I can make a total of 11 at Graphton
24 Street and ten from O'Connell Street.
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26 MR. MORRIS: I have been through that. You can ask further
27 questions if you like, Mr. Rampton.
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29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: If it is a matter of life and death you can
30 do a list in due course and tell me where they come from
31 and I can do the percentages.
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33 MR. MORRIS: So if you have ----
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35 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not forget that if the labour court got it
36 right Mr. Mehigan was not prepared to consider union
37 representation unless the majority were interested. So it
38 would not matter if it was 30 per cent or 45, it would fail
39 to qualify. The labour court, and I may think that its
40 recommendations read very sensibly, said, "No, even if they
41 have a minority they are entitled to be represented, have
42 their unions speak for them".
43
44 You see, at the end of the day I might conclude that
45 McDonald's is dead set against recognising unions unless
46 the majority of its workforce, in whatever unit is
47 sensible, wants the union or unless the law of the
48 particular country says that they must. It is where we go
49 from there; whether that is because they would rather run
50 the show themselves or they are concerned if there is union
51 representation they will have to pay more than they would
52 otherwise have to or improve conditions at their cost, that
53 may be the important issue at the end of the day.
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55 MR. MORRIS: Yes. I am going to go to a very specific plank of
56 this argument here, which is that if a third, something
57 like 30 per cent, something under a third of full-time in
58 your Company, something like 50 people, taking off the
59 number of managers and admin people -- we are talking
60 something like 40 people that are crew, something like
