Day 311 - 06 Dec 96 - Page 14


     
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     2   MR. RAMPTON:  That means the sort of inference which one might
     3        draw if the figures were reversed and two-thirds of the
     4        hourly paid workers were full-timers simply cannot be
     5        drawn, and if 66 percent of the hourly paid workers were
     6        full-timers, and the turnover was 100 percent plus, then
     7        one would quite legitimately say to oneself: well, if all
     8        those full-time workers are leaving in such quantities
     9        during the course of a single year, then there must be
    10        something wrong.  The same does not follow if one is
    11        looking at young part-timers, for a number of reasons which
    12        I will just mention briefly, if I may.
    13
    14   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes, please.
    15
    16   MR. RAMPTON:  I am not going to make a great speech about it.
    17        There are some points which are peculiar to under-21
    18        part-timers.  The first is that it is quite obvious,
    19        whether they are under 21 or under 50, or whatever, such
    20        people do not depend on McDonald's for their livelihood.
    21        People who work six, 10, 15, 20 hours a week are not
    22        depending on McDonald's for their livelihood; and that
    23        applies at all ages to part-timers.
    24
    25        So far as the youngsters are concerned, of course --
    26        I think as your Lordship has pointed out a number of times
    27        when the witnesses were giving evidence -- many of those
    28        people will be living at home or in student accommodation;
    29        and this bears more on pay than turnover, that you cannot
    30        really separate pay and conditions from turnover at any
    31        stage; and many will be getting some financial help from
    32        their parents.  One does not know how many.
    33
    34        Next, by very reason of the fact that they are part-timers,
    35        one can assume -- one must assume -- that the majority of
    36        them (perhaps almost all of them) are likely to have some
    37        other occupation.  Now, that might be studying or whatever
    38        during the day, or it might be, for example, working in a
    39        supermarket during shopping hours, or in a garage or in a
    40        pub, or something like that.
    41
    42        So far as turnover is concerned, what that, we submit,
    43        suggests is this, that for those young people working
    44        anything between maybe five and 20 hours a week at
    45        McDonald's, that pattern of works fits in well enough for
    46        their lives for a short time.  When they get to the stage
    47        of life where they are thinking of a permanent career,
    48        perhaps of getting married, perhaps putting a payment down
    49        on their first house, then completely different
    50        considerations apply.  With the youngsters, it is simply a 
    51        way of earning some extra money for a short time in their 
    52        lives, which means it is wholly credible that they will be 
    53        staying for three months, six months, or even nine months
    54        in the course of a year, leaving because they do not want
    55        to work there any more, perhaps, or because they have gone
    56        to college, or perhaps because they have gone rail trekking
    57        in Europe, or perhaps they have found a permanent full-time
    58        job.  It may be that some will come back the next year and
    59        that some will not, depending on their circumstances.  But
    60        that does not matter so far as turnover is concerned,

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