Day 259 - 10 Jun 96 - Page 34


     
     1        A.  Yes.
     2
     3   Q.   It was not something you had to explain?
     4        A.  No, no.
     5
     6   Q.   Was it apparent to you that he did understand it?
     7        A.  Very much so.  He was very articulate.
     8
     9   Q.   He was articulate?
    10        A.  Very, yes.
    11
    12   Q.   Just one final thing.  In paragraph 4, you remember you
    13        said, perhaps one occasion when he said he was
    14        investigating a complaint, he investigated, and then said
    15        that he was satisfied; is that right?
    16        A.  That is right, yes.
    17
    18   Q.   Racking your brains as best you can, going back as far as
    19        1981 or 1982, do you think there might have been other
    20        occasions when he said, "Look, I have had a specific
    21        complaint.  I want to look into it"?
    22        A.  That was part of his job as a wages inspector.  People
    23        were able to approach him to say that they were either
    24        unhappy or perhaps concerned that their wages were not
    25        being calculated correctly, not just within McDonald's, but
    26        lots of other large companies.
    27
    28   Q.   I understand that.  You, as a McDonald's person, saw him,
    29        as you say, roughly twice a year over a seven year period,
    30        six year period.  Can you remember how frequently he would
    31        say, "Look, I have had a complaint.  I have to look into
    32        it"?
    33        A.  Very infrequently; and he always made a joke that for a
    34        company the size of McDonald's, he was surprised that he
    35        did not get more, but he did not.
    36
    37   MR. RAMPTON:   Yes.  Thank you, Mrs. Pearce.  Please remain
    38        there, so the Defendants can ask you questions.
    39
    40                    Cross-examined by the Defendants
    41
    42   MR. MORRIS:  It is a bit surprising that he did get more
    43        complaints, is it not?
    44        A.  Is that a question?
    45
    46   Q.   It is surprising that he did not get more complaints, is it
    47        not?
    48        A.  I do not think so.
    49
    50   Q.   Did you pass on information that you had received from 
    51        stores about improper activities carried out at store 
    52        level? 
    53        A.  What sort of improper activities?
    54
    55   Q.   About under-18s working illegal hours; about people maybe
    56        not being paid for all the hours they worked -- apparently,
    57        some substantial part of crew members, we have seen in the
    58        documents, believed they do not get paid for all the hours
    59        they work, in one of the employee surveys -- people working
    60        very long hours, that kind of stuff?  Did you pass on that

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