Day 153 - 12 Jul 95 - Page 30
1 Q. What were the rumours, that is the question.
2 A. That was the rumour.
3
4 Q. The rumour is that McDonald's was against unions?
5 A. That was the rumour at the time, yes, as I remember.
6
7 Q. You just heard that from crew members?
8 A. I can remember two or three crew members asking me at
9 one point and I would have assumed that that would have
10 come from one person starting that rumour.
11
12 Q. Do you remember who those crew members were?
13 A. No.
14
15 Q. Probably it is a daft question but .....
16 A. It was never a -- like, it was not, you know, a buzz or
17 anything; it was just I felt, you know, it would be honest
18 to include that on my statement as I remember vaguely that
19 being the case.
20
21 MS. STEEL: At that time had you heard anything from the Company
22 itself about its view on trade unions?
23 A. Not that I can remember.
24
25 Q. Right. So how did you know it was a false rumour?
26 A. Because I had never heard anything of that nature, and
27 I am sure if the Company was against trade unions, then
28 they would have instructed managers to sort of be aware in
29 their restaurants, I would have thought, which they never
30 did.
31
32 Q. Did you ever ask anyone from the Company about what their
33 view on trade unions was after that?
34 A. No.
35
36 Q. You did not?
37 A. I still have not, to be honest, to this day so .....
38
39 Q. We have heard there is also a rumour that has been around
40 at times concerning McDonald's closing down stores where
41 staff joined a union or wanted to join a union; did you
42 ever hear a rumour like that?
43 A. I have never heard that specific rumour.
44
45 Q. Have you heard anything similar to that?
46 A. I think somebody might have mentioned it in one of the
47 statements I commented on, but that would be the first time
48 -- one of your witnesses, I believe.
49
50 Q. When the crew said to you that they thought the Company was
51 against unions, what did you say to them?
52 A. I said, as far as I was aware, nobody was particularly
53 anti-union and it had never cropped up.
54
55 Q. Just in paragraph 31 of your statement you mention you
56 recall Connor Donnegan ending up in tears. What was that
57 about?
58 A. Specifically, I remember Connor Donnegan was a crew
59 member who was being trained on the grill area by Trudie
60 Jones, who was putting a little bit too much pressure on
