Day 153 - 12 Jul 95 - Page 29
1 Q. -- or grease sets in; it is lighter than water and will
2 come to the top in various conditions, and may there
3 accumulate and cause a blockage?
4 A. We used to have a system -----
5
6 Q. On the other hand, I can see that if anyone was daft enough
7 to pour a whole lot of fat down, that is courting
8 disaster. Did you know what the cause was on this
9 occasion?
10 A. No. I cannot remember specifically, but the likely
11 explanation would have been either a grease blockage (which
12 is fairly unlikely, considering we used to dose the grease
13 trap on a nightly basis with actimatic powder) or,
14 secondly, because there was a removal lid by which we used
15 to dose it, maybe somebody put something down there which
16 had caused the blockage itself, because the actual exit
17 from the grease trap was smaller. So it could have been
18 either one of the two -- the most likely explanation being
19 that some form of foreign object had been put down there.
20
21 MR. MORRIS: When you say grease, are we talking about the fat
22 from the filtering unit, or what?
23 A. It could have been that, or grease, you know, from the
24 trays or the spatulas where we cleaned them.
25
26 Q. Right. You say that you recall Tim Taylor -- you closed
27 the store, you say?
28 A. That is right.
29
30 Q. Then you recall Tim Taylor, the operations manager,
31 visiting the store on that occasion, only to find it shut?
32 A. That is why I remember it mainly.
33
34 Q. He was initially aghast at the reason for the closure?
35 A. Certainly. He always liked to have a joke with
36 everybody, generally had a smile on his face, worked very
37 hard, very enthusiastic, yes.
38
39 Q. So in terms of socialising with other people and having a
40 laugh?
41 A. Yes, he did not take it to a degree where it was, you
42 know, would go beyond the point where it would be not
43 conducive to the work, but generally got on well with the
44 rest of the crew and he got on well with the Managers.
45
46 Q. That kind of impression you got with Siamak, is that the
47 impression you got for other staff generally at the
48 Colchester store?
49 A. They were not all generally as happy and outgoing as
50 Siamak. He was exceptional in his sort of enthusiasm for
51 the job, if you like.
52
53 Q. You say in point 29: "It is fair to say that at that time
54 during Siamak's working there there were occasionally false
55 rumours circulating about McDonald's policy on trade
56 unions". Give an example of what false rumours were.
57 A. All I remember is an odd, you know, maybe the odd crew
58 member would come up to me and say, you know: "Is it true
59 McDonald's does not like unions?"
60
