Day 303 - 19 Nov 96 - Page 30


     
     1        done.
     2
     3        She verified the contents of an interview that had been
     4        taped with the manager in 1987.  This was Lynval, manager
     5        known as Lynval, who had criticised the Company he was
     6        working for for being anti-union - that is a quote - the
     7        job as "demoralising", the pay as "awful", and all "to make
     8        as much profit for the big wigs as possible".  That was a
     9        manager still working at McDonald's at the time.
    10
    11        Moving on to Michael Logan, obviously the evidence of
    12        Michael Logan and Danny Olive, floor managers from Bath, is
    13        potentially important inasmuch as any of the live witnesses
    14        from McDonald's have any influence over the final decision
    15        because of the strength of the documentary evidence.  But
    16        also them, and I think Mr. Beech obviously, are important
    17        also because they deal with undercooking problems.  Some of
    18        the other witnesses also alluded to -- gave evidence about
    19        undercooking and bad hygiene practices.
    20
    21        Anyway, Mike Logan was a Floor Manager for a number of
    22        years at Bath, had walked out in November 1994, resigned
    23        due to understaffing, dangerous working conditions,
    24        including abuse of electrical safety, pressures to cut
    25        corners on food safety and other problems.
    26
    27        He gave evidence of how scheduling was used as a tool of
    28        discrimination and discipline, how staff failed to get
    29        their breaks entitlement, which of course was backed up by
    30        the official clock card records we have managed to obtain,
    31        showing hundreds of infringements of the law and McDonald's
    32        own contractual promises to staff, and also how beef and
    33        chicken products were regularly served undercooked.
    34
    35        Danny Olive, another Floor Manager at the store, told the
    36        court how he backed the evidence of Mr. Logan, I think
    37        there was one minor detail which he could not verify, and
    38        how he had also resigned some months later, submitting a
    39        detailed letter of complaint over conditions in the store
    40        which was subsequently lost - the letter, that was.
    41
    42        And again we would say these are very honest,
    43        straightforward, simple witnesses.  When I say simple, I
    44        mean simple in terms of they come, they told it how it was
    45        from their own experience, and did not have any axe to
    46        grind.  Like the rest of the witnesses that we brought,
    47        they had no connection with us whatsoever.  And McDonald's
    48        can only counter with loyal managerial current employees
    49        who would be under commercial and control of the company.
    50
    51        If we had time, then we would show how McDonald's evidence
    52        from Bath and from the other stores was contradictory,
    53        inadequate, and ending up with making a number of important
    54        admissions against the original position.
    55
    56        Just before I go on to Colchester....  Hang on a second.
    57        Of course, Michael Logan had also been unfairly sacked and
    58        reinstated after applying to an industrial tribunal, as we
    59        have heard, earlier on in his employment.  He also
    60        criticised use of favouritism and discrimination "to make

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