Day 294 - 05 Nov 96 - Page 33
1 had been working at McDonald's, I think, for five years, or
2 something, overall. He was a floor manager, so he knew
3 what he was talking about.
4
5 Another floor manager, Danny Olive, gave evidence backing
6 Mr. Logan's criticisms; and he had also resigned after
7 making complaints about conditions at the store. In
8 particular, the additional concern was the irresponsibility
9 of McDonald's in using inappropriate equipment or equipment
10 that was not working properly, and, in the case of the
11 RCDs, actively impeding safety mechanisms in order to
12 maintain the constant flow of food to customers.
13
14 I think -- I have not got notes about it -- that Alan Beech
15 was also, there was a substantial amount of evidence of
16 undercooking there.
17
18 But I think that the point is, our case is, the systematic
19 inbuilt flaws due to the high pressured high turnover,
20 inexperienced, general conditions that exist in McDonald's
21 stores, and the fragility of the procedures.
22
23 I mean, for example, we heard that the salmonella -- that
24 incident where the girl was served an undercooked or
25 uncooked chicken product -- sorry, I can't remember now --
26 that was unfit for human consumption, was as a result of
27 the staff not recognising flashing lights or being confused
28 by the different flashing lights. I can't remember now who
29 it was who said they would be looking into that and maybe
30 changing the system.
31
32 The point is that that, we would say, is not only a
33 fragility, but it is a flaw, because of the significant
34 percentage of staff at McDonald's (probably the majority)
35 who you could describe as inexperienced.
36
37 I think McDonald's, at one stage in this case, claimed that
38 staff would only work on equipment they had been trained
39 for and that they would be "buddied up", and all this kind
40 of stuff. But that was not the reality that came out of
41 the evidence when the employment witnesses came to court;
42 even McDonald's employment witnesses, I think. The reality
43 was: you get on with it, once you arrive at the store, you
44 get on with it, and you do what needs to be done and you
45 learn as you go.
46
47 Mike Logan was explaining how he had to keep checking
48 inexperienced staff, in particular, because of equipment
49 failures that they would not recognise. So, when there are
50 equipment failures, because of the lack of experience of
51 staff at McDonald's, that is a flaw. It is not just that
52 there are equipment failures, but the fact is that people
53 are so inexperienced and so much under pressure that it is
54 inevitable that they are not going to notice for some
55 time.
56
57 Finally on this section, on this issue, on the subject of
58 additives and the health concerns about additives, we have
59 the acute reactions that can occur related to
60 hyperactivity, what is called hyperactivity, which has been
