Day 247 - 10 May 96 - Page 19
1
2 MR. MORRIS: Sorry?
3
4 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I will rise for 5 minutes now. We will have
5 the break a bit earlier and make sure that is ready, and
6 the Miss Barnes papers you want can be found as well.
7
8 (Short adjournment)
9
10 MR. MORRIS: Mr. Preston, I think you have the employment
11 section of the abstract because there is no file up there.
12 If you could go to page 37 of the abstract?
13 A. OK, 37?
14
15 Q. Yes. There should be something which says "in Denmark",
16 half way down? Half way down the page, "In Denmark a staff
17 Handbook given to McDonald's employees"; does it say that?
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Not in my 37?
20 A. Not on mine.
21
22 MR. MORRIS: Right.
23
24 MR. JUSTICE BELL: What is the little letter against it?
25
26 MR. MORRIS: This abstract is the one we have in court. It is
27 possible it was updated and the page numbers went back.
28
29 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is page 22.
30
31 MR. MORRIS: It is paragraph 106 I have in here. I have the old
32 one here.
33
34 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Right. Page 41, please, Mr. Preston?
35 A. Page 41?
36
37 Q. Yes. There is a paragraph "I" there as well.
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Does it start "in Denmark a staff Handbook"?
40 A. Yes.
41
42 Q. Thank you very much. I am particularly interested in the
43 7th line down onwards where it starts off "in Autumn 1983";
44 yes?
45 A. Yes.
46
47 Q. "In Autumn 1983 HRF" -- that is the Union -- "initiated
48 negotiations with McDonald's lawyer trying to arrange for
49 collective agreements for staff similar to a national
50 agreement covering many similar companies in the catering
51 industry. This agreement guaranteed income, hours of work,
52 sickness benefit, the right to notice and overtime rights.
53 McDonald's pulled out of the negotiations.
54
55 In Spring 1985, McDonald's again refused to negotiate. In
56 September 1988, McDonald's broke off the year-long
57 negotiations with unions over staff rights. A trade union
58 publicity and boycott campaign was launched with the
59 support of trade unions in other countries. McDonald's
60 tried, but failed, to ban the trade union boycott stickers.
