Day 172 - 12 Oct 95 - Page 49


     
     1        13.  There were roughly 100 employees at the store, but it
     2        is hard to say with any specificity.  It was a very big
     3        store, supposed to be one of the busiest in Europe.  The
     4        majority of staff - perhaps 60% - were non-white.  Of those
     5        who were white, the majority were foreigners:  a lot of
     6        Italians, a few Spanish and so on.  The non-whites were
     7        Ghanaians, Nigerians, Afro-Caribbeans, Asians and Chinese.
     8        The Friday evening shift was known as 'the Chinese shift'
     9        since most of the staff who worked at that time were
    10        Chinese.
    11
    12        14.  Most of the people on my shift were over 18 and
    13        I certainly did not know of anybody who was under 16.  On
    14        the evening shifts they may have been younger, but I knew
    15        nothing about the other shifts and generally never met
    16        people on those shifts.
    17
    18        15.  There were budget ratios for absolutely every overhead
    19        that could possibly be incurred in the store.  Every single
    20        expense was measured in terms of its percentage of total
    21        sales, even down to items of cleaning materials.  I knew
    22        that staff costs were not allowed to exceed 15% of
    23        turnover:  I cannot remember from whom I first heard this,
    24        but it was definitely someone in Management.  I got on well
    25        with the lower Management and could generally find out
    26        anything I wanted to know from them.  The Manager, Jim
    27        Atkinson, used to brag about the various figures for sales
    28        and overheads to the Area Manager, and I overheard such
    29        conversations frequently.  The budget ratios seemed to be
    30        of great importance in such discussions.
    31
    32        16.  As an example of how the extremely tight attention to
    33        all expenses manifested itself, I used to work in the
    34        backroom, unloading the juggernauts which delivered various
    35        foods on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  Two juggernauts
    36        appeared on each delivery, one containing frozen goods, the
    37        other one containing unfrozen.  During the winter months
    38        when I had to go into the yard to unloads the trucks, it
    39        was often very cold.  I also had to go into the walk-in
    40        freezers, working there for lengthy periods in temperatures
    41        of minus 20 centigrade.  Despite repeated requests, the
    42        Company refused to provide any clothing to make this job
    43        less unpleasant.  I had to wear my own jacket in order to
    44        keep warm and the management refused to buy gloves.
    45        Management also refused to buy rubber gloves for people
    46        working in the backroom on various duties which involved
    47        the use of highly abrasive chemicals and detergents.
    48        Certain people developed skin rashes from using cleaning
    49        liquids and regular requests were made to Management for
    50        gloves, but they were always declined.  People who had 
    51        developed such skin conditions worked on the preparation of 
    52        food, which I understood to be illegal and certainly most 
    53        unhealthy.
    54
    55        17. ...  There did not seem to be much control.  A Manager
    56        from McDonald's came over from the USA once to inspect -
    57        the staff were told we had to smile and be on our best
    58        behaviour.  We were not aware of his visit as he came in as
    59        a customer, but we were told subsequently that he had been
    60        satisfied with what he had seen.  Representatives from the

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