Day 302 - 18 Nov 96 - Page 52


     
     1        and finds it unsafe."
     2
     3        Then he says that he was not allowed to go back of house at
     4        the stores he visited; and that is when he would suggest
     5        accidents are likely to take place more than the quiet
     6        periods.
     7
     8        He said the reason why hustle prevailed, bottom of page 60:
     9         "...almost regardless of the level of sales is that the
    10        staffing levels are tuned to sales, so that staff are
    11        working hustle hard all the time."  That is at the top of
    12        page 61.
    13
    14        I asked him:  "You saw that yourself at the two stores you
    15        visited?"  Answer:  "Yes."
    16
    17        Then he says, at line 37: "In my opinion, these systems
    18        work not safely, but they can work off peak because there
    19        are fewer staff in the same confined area.  In my opinion,
    20        these systems break down during peak and busy periods when
    21        you have small staff in what are not -- they are not large
    22        kitchens.  So, hustle, in my view, is never safe, but it is
    23        at its riskiest, obviously, when the stores are busy.  That
    24        is when safety is most compromised."
    25
    26        Question: "Did that apply as much to the front of the house
    27        as to the back of the house?"
    28
    29        Answer: "No, no.  The unsafe areas are back of house; no
    30        doubt in my mind at all about that."
    31
    32        Then I asked him, top of page 62: "A simple question:  did
    33        you see hustle in evidence at back of house?"
    34
    35        Answer:  "Yes."
    36
    37        Question: "While you were there?"
    38
    39        Answer: "Yes."
    40
    41        It turns out he was only there for two or three minutes.
    42        That is on the next day.
    43
    44        Bottom of page 62, he says: "Performance-related pay
    45        systems are fairly common now in the catering industry, and
    46        Pizza Hut applies them and McDonald's applies them."
    47
    48        I believe the reason he says "now" is because McDonald's
    49        have been one of the companies that have pioneered
    50        performance-related pay, which we see as a completely
    51        retrogressive step.
    52
    53   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Is that you or Mr. Pearson?
    54
    55   MR. MORRIS:   No.  I believe it is a retrogressive step.  It is
    56        a fraud, for a start.  He actually explains why he thinks
    57        that performance-related pay is -- well, he would say it is
    58        inadequate in a low paid job.  I would say it is inadequate
    59        at any time.  But he then goes on and explains his expert
    60        view.

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