Day 152 - 11 Jul 95 - Page 79


     
     1
     2   Q.   --- if it had been committed?
     3        A.  That is right.  It did not physically ----
     4
     5   Q.   Unless one took steps to get around the system.
     6        A.  Yes, although I cannot imagine what steps.
     7
     8   Q.   Well, clocking out at 10 and having some other arrangement
     9        on the side.
    10        A.  Sure.
    11
    12   MR. MORRIS:  Exactly, it would not stop people clocking out at
    13        the correct time and then carrying on working if some other
    14        system had been brought in and, likewise, the computer
    15        system since 1990 which will not let workers be scheduled
    16        at an illegal time, again would not stop people working
    17        beyond their scheduled time as long as some system for
    18        remuneration be worked out that did not ----
    19        A.  Where would this system for remuneration come from?
    20        I cannot think ----
    21
    22   Q.   Mr. Gidney certainly puts up one particular system for
    23        that.
    24        A.  That is under the old method, the old clock cards.
    25        With the computerised system you cannot just input extra
    26        hours willy-nilly.  You cannot physically do it. The reason
    27        we do it by computer is the crew member is the only person
    28        who is allowed to use their clocking in or clocking out
    29        card.
    30
    31   Q.   Why was this what you say effective, special system brought
    32        in to prevent illegal working at McDonald's?
    33        A.  Why was it brought in?
    34
    35   Q.   Yes.  Did you see any memos about it and why it was being
    36        introduced?
    37        A.  I mean the usage was -- first of all, the Husky was
    38        brought in because there was a twofold benefit.  The main
    39        benefit being that we did not have to manually do the
    40        payroll every other week, so the Husky generated the
    41        payroll by means of the modem down to Head Office and then
    42        obviously it took out the need for a Manager (A) to total
    43        up the clock cards every night and (B) to spend two and a
    44        half hours on a Sunday morning entering the payroll.
    45
    46   Q.   Yes, but why ----
    47        A.  That was the primary reason.  There is a secondary
    48        benefit. The secondary benefit was it was easier to monitor
    49        any contraventions of company policy because it just
    50        appeared at Head Office and in the restaurant.  So that was 
    51        a by-product of the need for, you know, better technology 
    52        coming in.  It was not brought in because there was a 
    53        specific problem.
    54
    55   Q.   The point is, Mr. Davis, there was a problem, whether it is
    56        a problem now is not the question, but there was a problem,
    57        was there not, in the 1980s of young people being worked
    58        illegal hours by McDonald's?
    59        A.  Certainly not in my experience.  There was a lot of
    60        checks and balances within the restaurant which meant that

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