Day 118 - 01 May 95 - Page 38


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Yes.
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  I think it is tab 26, volume XII, if you go to page
     4        640?
     5        A.  Yes.
     6
     7   Q.   If you look at the note underneath the table it says:
     8        "Where a worker is not supplied by the employer with
     9        either full board and lodging or meals whilst on duty, the
    10        rates of pay in", the chart, that is, "(1) above shall be
    11        increased by 2.36p per hour for the first 39 hours worked
    12        by him in any week".  So, at that time, it was a condition
    13        of paying wages that McDonald's paid that they got free
    14        meals?
    15        A.  I will accept that.
    16
    17   Q.   Yes?
    18        A.  Yes.
    19
    20   Q.   Can we also note, or ask you, that on page 632 the
    21        definition of "meal" in the middle -- it is just under
    22        "London Area" ---
    23        A.  Yes, I see it.
    24
    25   Q.   -- "means a meal of sufficient quality and quantity"; is
    26        that correct?
    27        A.  Yes.
    28
    29   Q.   The meal that McDonald's workers were able to get for free,
    30        was that basically a typical meal -- burger, fries and a
    31        soft drink?
    32        A.  No, there was no hard and fast rule on this.  I said
    33        the other day that Bob Rhea had a saying -- he was then the
    34        Chief Executive Officer -- "Take what you want but eat what
    35        you take", and I think back to when I did my month's
    36        in-store training.  I generally took a sandwich, some
    37        fries, a drink and an apple pie.  That was the then,
    38        I think, the only -- and that was sufficient.
    39
    40   Q.   Is it the general position that workers are allowed to take
    41        the basic sandwich, fries and then soft drink and, in fact,
    42        McDonald's workers have been sacked for taking additional
    43        food?
    44        A.  No, not to my knowledge.  The only cases I can bring to
    45        mind where they have been sacked over food is when they
    46        have waste it or where they have given it away for
    47        nothing.  That is the common occurrence, but I honestly
    48        believe that in -- I cannot talk about franchisees because
    49        they all have their own sets of rules, but in company owned
    50        stores the general rule was:  "Take what you eat but eat 
    51        what you take". 
    52 
    53   Q.   So if any worker has ever been sacked by McDonald's -----
    54
    55   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Why do you not divide it up, because the
    56        trouble is if you take an incident anything can happen
    57        anywhere.  It does not necessarily help you as to what the
    58        general practice is; it may be do but, equally, it may
    59        not.
    60

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