Day 303 - 19 Nov 96 - Page 30
1 done.
2
3 She verified the contents of an interview that had been
4 taped with the manager in 1987. This was Lynval, manager
5 known as Lynval, who had criticised the Company he was
6 working for for being anti-union - that is a quote - the
7 job as "demoralising", the pay as "awful", and all "to make
8 as much profit for the big wigs as possible". That was a
9 manager still working at McDonald's at the time.
10
11 Moving on to Michael Logan, obviously the evidence of
12 Michael Logan and Danny Olive, floor managers from Bath, is
13 potentially important inasmuch as any of the live witnesses
14 from McDonald's have any influence over the final decision
15 because of the strength of the documentary evidence. But
16 also them, and I think Mr. Beech obviously, are important
17 also because they deal with undercooking problems. Some of
18 the other witnesses also alluded to -- gave evidence about
19 undercooking and bad hygiene practices.
20
21 Anyway, Mike Logan was a Floor Manager for a number of
22 years at Bath, had walked out in November 1994, resigned
23 due to understaffing, dangerous working conditions,
24 including abuse of electrical safety, pressures to cut
25 corners on food safety and other problems.
26
27 He gave evidence of how scheduling was used as a tool of
28 discrimination and discipline, how staff failed to get
29 their breaks entitlement, which of course was backed up by
30 the official clock card records we have managed to obtain,
31 showing hundreds of infringements of the law and McDonald's
32 own contractual promises to staff, and also how beef and
33 chicken products were regularly served undercooked.
34
35 Danny Olive, another Floor Manager at the store, told the
36 court how he backed the evidence of Mr. Logan, I think
37 there was one minor detail which he could not verify, and
38 how he had also resigned some months later, submitting a
39 detailed letter of complaint over conditions in the store
40 which was subsequently lost - the letter, that was.
41
42 And again we would say these are very honest,
43 straightforward, simple witnesses. When I say simple, I
44 mean simple in terms of they come, they told it how it was
45 from their own experience, and did not have any axe to
46 grind. Like the rest of the witnesses that we brought,
47 they had no connection with us whatsoever. And McDonald's
48 can only counter with loyal managerial current employees
49 who would be under commercial and control of the company.
50
51 If we had time, then we would show how McDonald's evidence
52 from Bath and from the other stores was contradictory,
53 inadequate, and ending up with making a number of important
54 admissions against the original position.
55
56 Just before I go on to Colchester.... Hang on a second.
57 Of course, Michael Logan had also been unfairly sacked and
58 reinstated after applying to an industrial tribunal, as we
59 have heard, earlier on in his employment. He also
60 criticised use of favouritism and discrimination "to make
