Day 189 - 20 Nov 95 - Page 25
1 the trade union. But there is a thing there about ---
2
3 Q. It says up here ---
4 A. -- Martin Coughlin.
5
6 Q. -- 20 involved?
7 A. Pardon?
8
9 Q. It says here in the third paragraph: "Martin Coughlin felt
10 there could possibly be up to 20 involved."
11 A. Yes. He had a sort of private conversation with me,
12 and he was asking me, you know, was I not satisfied with
13 the conditions, and I told him I was not. This was after
14 one of the -- they were called rap sessions, actually,
15 where the crew are -- that is a McDonald's word -- where
16 the staff members would have to meet.
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Who asked you -- Mr. Mehigan?
19 A. No, Mr. Coughlin, Martin Coughlin, it was at this
20 stage. He was the Store Manager; and he more or less said
21 to me, he says: "They are the pay and conditions you joined
22 under, and if you do not like them you can leave", and
23 I said: "I do not see why I should leave just because I do
24 not like, you know, the pay and conditions", or I thought
25 it could be rectified.
26
27 Jobs were very hard to get in Dublin at this stage, because
28 there is a vast young population there and it was at the
29 height of the recession. It was hitting very, very hard in
30 Dublin, so jobs were hard to get. So you just did not
31 really want to give up a job.
32
33 MR. MORRIS: After your meeting with Martin Coughlin, were you
34 satisfied or unsatisfied with the meeting?
35 A. I was not particularly satisfied. I had got -- I think
36 at that stage I had got a wage rise, which was 10 pence,
37 which was considered really good. That meant your
38 attitude -- no. What happened was, it meant that you were
39 a very good worker. But I asked him why I did not get the
40 full, I think it was 12 pence or 15 pence rise. He
41 says: "Your attitude was wrong", meaning, like, I was
42 pro-trade union. As far as I got it, that is what it
43 meant.
44
45 Q. But then, having got a 10 pence pay rise, your pay was now
46 satisfactory?
47 A. No, not at all. I thought it was terrible.
48
49 Q. Thought it was what?
50 A. Terrible -- because McDonald's made vast sums of money,
51 up to maybe £1,000 an hour across the till.
52
53 Q. When did you actually join the union? Did you join before
54 the strike started?
55 A. Yes. I was one of the initial people who went down to
56 Liberty Hall, which is the trade union headquarters in
57 Dublin, and we joined this -- I think, initially, there
58 were eight of us went down initially from the
59 O'Connell Street branch, and then after the dispute started
60 we were joined by -- more people joined the union.
