Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 23
1 (To the witness): But the notes, as they were, were
2 accurate, as far as you know; yes?
3 A. Yes.
4
5 Q. There will be a couple of them I refer to; some of them
6 I will refer to. I will just start reading through.
7
8 "I spent some six months working as a researcher for
9 Jane Gabriel Productions on a documentary film recording
10 McDonald's. The film was intended to record a 'day in the
11 life' of the hamburger chain and we filmed the two stores,
12 the Strand store next to Charing Cross Station and the one
13 at Croydon.
14
15 "In the process of doing research, I worked five shifts,
16 split between the two stores, including two shifts that ran
17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Although the Company knew that
18 I was a researcher and, indeed, gave permission for me to
19 work these shifts in order to experience what it was like
20 as a crew member, I was treated exactly as though I was,
21 indeed, a full employee of McDonald's. No quarter was
22 given."
23
24 Can I just ask a question there? In what ways do you feel
25 that there was a difference between you and the crew people
26 while you were doing the work?
27 A. There are probably two main differences: one is that
28 I knew that it was only a short-term exercise and that
29 I did not have to come back the next day; and the other was
30 that I was getting paid a great deal more money than they
31 were. But in terms of actual working, I felt that I was at
32 that moment, from 11 to 4, I was working exactly as they
33 were working and did not have time to walk around and take
34 a break or anything; I had to keep working like they were.
35
36 Q. "I worked as part of the grill teams and had to put up with
37 them and the pattern that the rest of the team was
38 working. Thus, on the two long shifts, I had a two minute
39 drink break, and no more."
40
41 A question there: did you have an official break as well,
42 half an hour or whatever, or was that just the only break
43 you had?
44 A. That was the only break, because it was only a
45 relatively short shift, was it not, 11 to 4 -- so five
46 hours.
47
48 Q. Five hours; you just had a two minute break?
49 A. Yes.
50
51 Q. "At the Strand store, whilst working on the Big Mac
52 dressings, I observed that the lettuce supplied to me was
53 in poor condition, going brown at the edges and very
54 soggy. I pointed this out to the grill team leader, who
55 shrugged: 'It is often like that. Get on with it.' Thus a
56 whole bag of rotting lettuce was used up in the Big Macs.
57
58 "On another occasion, also at the Strand store, I was
59 passed a tray of toasted buns to dress. At least four of
60 the buns were mouldy blue. I again pointed this out to the
