Day 121 - 04 May 95 - Page 13


     
     1        would bring it to our attention.
     2
     3   Q.   Do you not take crews' rights to join a trade union and
     4        their knowledge of that right seriously?
     5        A.  Do I take -- repeat that?
     6
     7   Q.   If the crew feel that the Company would discriminate
     8        against them for joining a trade union or whatever, would
     9        you take that seriously?
    10        A.  We do not discriminate against them.
    11
    12   Q.   Yes, but if they felt -----
    13        A.  I do not know that they do.
    14
    15   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  You are going an awful long way away from
    16        it.
    17
    18   MR. MORRIS:  You accept there have been false rumours
    19        circulating about McDonald's policies?
    20        A.  I do not accept it.  I do not know them.
    21
    22   Q.   You accept that Mark Davis ------
    23
    24   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, do not ask him that.  Wait and hear what
    25        Mark Davis says and question him about it, if you want.
    26
    27   MR. MORRIS:  Right.
    28
    29   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  What you are really aiming at is an
    30        allegation that McDonald's will act fast and fiercely to
    31        quell any wish to get unions involved and what they do
    32        about rumours is a few stages removed from that main
    33        allegation, especially when you are questioning a witness
    34        who has told you on more than one occasion that if there
    35        were such rumours they had not got to him.  If you are
    36        questioning him about whether he would be concerned about
    37        that, we have got several moves away from your main
    38        allegation.
    39
    40        You may succeed in your allegation, you may not, but asking
    41        Mr. Nicholson about what his reaction would be to rumours
    42        which he has not heard is pretty far away from the centre
    43        of the action.
    44
    45   MR. MORRIS:  I will put it to you, Mr. Nicholson, that a company
    46        encourages rumours and encourages people at McDonald's to
    47        feel that they would be sacked if they joined a trade
    48        union, and rumours is one way of doing that?
    49        A.  No, I will not accept that at all.
    50 
    51   Q.   It is part of the Company's folk law, is it not? 
    52        A.  No. 
    53
    54   Q.   It is part of the corporate culture where policies which
    55        you do not want to write on paper in case they are
    56        challenged can be circulated by other means?
    57        A.  No.
    58
    59   Q.   If we look at point 33 on page 12, Mark Davis says in the
    60        fourth sentence in that paragraph:  "Further, as I have

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