Day 189 - 20 Nov 95 - Page 28


     
     1   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Do you mean after the agreement of the -----
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  No, no, at the beginning.  It is just something
     4        that came up -----
     5
     6   THE WITNESS:   No.  There was not anyone sacked at that stage.
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:   Right.
     9        A.  They claimed -- they told a lot of the staff -- after
    10        we went back in, I was talking to them, and they said that
    11        the dispute had been over the fact that Jimmy Macken had
    12        been sacked.  It was not at all; it was over wages and
    13        conditions and the fact that we wanted to join a trade
    14        union, but they made it out to be that that was the issue.
    15
    16   Q.   So the management was telling the staff who had not been on
    17        strike ---
    18        A.  Yes -- a totally different story.
    19
    20   Q.   -- the things that were not the demands of the strike?
    21        A.  Yes, exactly.
    22
    23   Q.   Were you aware of anybody coming outside of Ireland to get
    24        involved in the dispute -- from McDonald's?
    25        A.  They had some American people over.  Steve Copeland,
    26        I think, was the man's name, and there was another American
    27        gentleman; I cannot remember his name now.
    28
    29   Q.   How do you remember Steve Copeland's name?
    30        A.  Because I talked to him; and at one stage when we
    31        joined the dispute, we were round the back of McDonald's,
    32        he says he wanted to talk to us because, basically, he said
    33        he wanted sort of to form a staff association.  We said we
    34        were not having that, because we wanted to be represented
    35        by a proper union.
    36
    37   Q.   So he suggested ---
    38        A.  -- that they form a staff union.
    39
    40   Q.   That you form a staff union?
    41        A.  Yes, yes.  We form a staff union, the staff of
    42        McDonald's; and I said no, because I wanted a proper
    43        representation because -----
    44
    45   Q.   Sorry, do you mean a special inhouse -----
    46        A.  Yes, an inhouse -- yes, staff association.
    47
    48   Q.   Where did this discussion take place?
    49        A.  There was a little -- it is like a pool hall, amusement
    50        hall, at the back of McDonald's, down the lane way, and it 
    51        was in that. 
    52 
    53   Q.   Who attended that meeting?
    54        A.  It was a few people of us on strike, and there was
    55        Steve Copeland and I think it is a junior member of
    56        management.  I cannot remember.
    57
    58   Q.   So how many of the pickets took part in that?
    59        A.  I would say there was about seven.
    60

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