Day 118 - 01 May 95 - Page 78


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I would assume that he is reasonably well
     3        paid.
     4
     5   MR. MORRIS:  Are you highly paid?
     6        A.  That depends upon your position.
     7
     8   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  No, it is not a question someone can answer
     9        is it?  Quite frankly I do not see why Mr. Nicholson should
    10        answer questions about his pay.
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  Well, are McDonald's executives highly paid?
    13        A.  It depends upon your position I suppose.  Compared with
    14        yourself they are highly paid.  Compared to Paul Ghetty
    15        junior they are not.  It is not a question I can answer.
    16
    17   Q.   Do you think it is fair to say that compared to McDonald's
    18        executives McDonald's crew are low paid?
    19        A.  I do not accept that McDonald's crew are low paid.
    20        I do not accept that.
    21
    22   Q.   Yes, but you said it depends upon the position?
    23        A.  I do accept McDonald's executives are paid more than
    24        crew people, yes.
    25
    26   Q.   So is it fair to say that compared to McDonald's executives
    27        McDonald's crew are low paid?
    28        A.  I have answered that question.
    29
    30   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  It is not a very clear question.  If you are
    31        putting that they are paid less than executives I would
    32        guess the answer to that is yes and there could not be any
    33        doubt about it.  But what the leaflet does not allege is
    34        that executives are extravagantly paid while crew members
    35        are ground to the minimum.  It says that the crew members
    36        are lowly paid, which I would have thought must mean, as a
    37        purely objective thing, that they are not paid a living
    38        wage or anything which would allow them to live comfortably
    39        which you may pursue, or they are paid less than people
    40        either in the same industry or, more to the point which is
    41        made in the leaflet, with people doing comparable work
    42        outside the catering industry.  That is all valid but I do
    43        not think comparison with what the executives are paid is.
    44        In almost every industry I can imagine executives in
    45        relatively high positions are well paid, and people on the
    46        shop floor may be not very well paid, and they are
    47        certainly paid much less than the executives but that is
    48        not really what this section of the leaflet is attacking.
    49
    50   MS. STEEL:  I do not think that is necessarily true that the 
    51        leaflet is not about that.  It is a matter of opinion about 
    52        what is considered to be low pay. 
    53
    54   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  By all means stick at that by comparison with
    55        other industries or catering or just that £X a week £2.50
    56        or what is not very much money.
    57
    58   MS. STEEL:  But there is not any reason why we should not be
    59        allowed to compare it to executive's pay and criticise it
    60        it on those grounds.

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