Day 134 - 13 Jun 95 - Page 34
1 had so many older people working for us but ......
2
3 Q. Yes, you positively target young people and you want to
4 employ young people, do you not, at McDonald's?
5 A. We are quite happy to employ young people.
6
7 Q. You prefer to employ young people? I am sorry to
8 interrupt, but you prefer to employ young people?
9 A. No, we do not prefer to employ young people.
10
11 Q. So the people that you employ represent really the people
12 that wish to work at McDonald's?
13 A. We advertise for people who are at home and also for
14 people who are at college and also for older people. So,
15 when we are looking to recruit people, we will look to
16 recruit people across the spectrum.
17
18 Q. The reality is 90 per cent of your employees are under 30,
19 I think it is 64 per cent are 20 or under, something like a
20 third are under 18, and then of the working population,
21 those between 30 and, say, 60 or 65 are only 10 per cent of
22 McDonald's employees because they do not want to work for
23 McDonald's, do they? You have said yourself.
24 A. I have not said that.
25
26 Q. You have said yourself that you do not target specifically
27 young age groups but that would mean, therefore, that
28 people older just do not want to work more McDonald's?
29 A. It may be that they never thought of it.
30
31 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I do not follow that. Say why you say that.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: If people are turning up on the basis of whether
34 they wish to work or not, not because you have targeted
35 them, then the reality is that the older people get the
36 less likely they are to come knocking on McDonald's door
37 and say: "I demand to be employed" or "I want to be
38 employed?
39 A. I think may be it is your use of the word "target" and
40 my use of the word "recruit" and "advertise" in that we do
41 advertise. It is certainly true that there are people who
42 would not associate themselves with working at McDonald's;
43 if they are older, they would never have thought of it.
44 That is why at times we have positively tried to recruit
45 older people to work for us as well.
46
47 Q. You advertised in Employment Exchanges, do you not?
48 A. Yes.
49
50 Q. Job Centres?
51 A. Yes.
52
53 Q. You recognise there are millions of people that are
54 unemployed?
55 A. Yes.
56
57 Q. Do you recognise that those people are under pressure to
58 take jobs, any jobs, from the Unemployment Offices, Restart
59 interviews and all that kind of stuff, to be available for
60 work?
