Day 302 - 18 Nov 96 - Page 12
1 expected." Page 55 of that day, which I think is grossly
2 insulting for him to say that and really means that the
3 credibility of McDonald's witnesses that would say
4 something like that, in terms of their value judgment or
5 subjective judgment over some of the issues that have to be
6 resolved, is questionable, because of that kind of
7 statement.
8
9 Mr. Beavers is the Plaintiffs' lead witness and answered
10 questions about the motive for the Plaintiffs, the first
11 Plaintiffs, bringing the case, and that does throw doubt on
12 their judgment as to what is low pay, what is or is not
13 ecological damage and all the other matters, because they
14 are completely unable to see the simplest common sense
15 unfairness and therefore the right to criticise in those
16 terms which they are considering libellous, but anybody
17 else in the world would consider common sense.
18
19 That is not really to criticise him personally, because
20 again it is just that they are so bound up in the
21 McDonaldland that they create corporate mentality, they
22 cannot really see the reality, the real reality. He
23 refused to reveal his own salary. That was page 49 on that
24 day. He said "there were no hours guaranteed at
25 McDonald's", and he comes on to that later -- that is on
26 page 65 on that day -- and that 80 percent of the jobs were
27 part time. He explained how the company would "establish
28 the labour percentage" for each store -- that was on day
29 124, page 49. The crew wages bill target as a percentage
30 of the store sales, which he said was between about 15 and
31 19 percent, that was on day 4, page 79 and day 124,
32 page 50. He recognised that in the US it would be illegal
33 not to pay overtime for over 40 hours per week worked, and
34 that -----
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You meant to say day 124, did you, when you
37 -----
38
39 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
40
41 MR. JUSTICE BELL: That is when he came back, is it?
42
43 MR. MORRIS: Yes.
44
45 MR. JUSTICE BELL: It is just a bit confusing when he was day 4
46 and 124. Make sure you get them right.
47
48 MR. MORRIS: Yes. I have, yes. There were two references to
49 day 124. That was the 15 and 19 percent. Also the labour
50 percentage. Shall I just say those again? The 15 to 19
51 percent was day 4, page 79 and day 124, page 50, and the
52 company "establishing the labour percentage" was on day
53 124, page 49.
54
55 He said it would be illegal in the US not to pay overtime
56 for over 40 hours per week worked, which of course we would
57 say is the same in this country, over 39 hours a week.
58 McDonald's were illegally not paying for a number of
59 years. But, in any event, we have it from Mr. Beavers that
60 it was illegal in the States, and that it was a fair law.
