Day 150 - 07 Jul 95 - Page 45
1 MR. JUSTICE BELL: I have no doubt Ms. Steel and Mr. Morris will
2 put what they want about it, if they choose, but from the
3 point of view of putting your case, you could not have a
4 simpler or more comprehensive answer.
5
6 MR. ATKINSON: No. The only reason I was saying was because
7 there might be a discussion as opposed to a letter, for
8 example, that comes in.
9
10 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes, if he spoke a trade union
11 representative, I would have thought he would have had a
12 conversation about trade unions which he says he has not
13 had.
14
15 MR. ATKINSON: I am not going to argue about it.
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: No, I suggest you leave it there, and we will
18 see (indecipherable) .....
19
20 MR. ATKINSON: Do you know anything about a group called the
21 "Colchester McDonald's Freedom Fighters"?
22 A. No.
23
24 Q. Would you expect to know if there was some real impact
25 being made by them?
26 A. Yes.
27
28 Q. Why would you expect to know?
29 A. Well, then I -- someone would have told me or any
30 actions that they would have done would have come to my
31 attention; none did so.
32
33 Q. Are you personally hostile to trade unions, Mr. Stanton?
34 A. No.
35
36 Q. If we turn to rap sessions, you understand, presumably,
37 what I mean by that?
38 A. Yes, I do, yes, I do.
39
40 Q. Have you conducted any rap sessions personally as a
41 Manager?
42 A. As a Manager, no. As an Area Supervisor, again part of
43 my job responsibilities would be to visit restaurants other
44 than my own to conduct rap sessions. I probably may do one
45 or so, no more than one a month anyway, in restaurants
46 within that Senior Supervisor group that I worked in, but
47 I would not do my own.
48
49 Q. What do you see as the purpose of a rap session?
50 A. I think there is nothing better than communication, so
51 you get an idea of how people working in that business or
52 working in that restaurant feel about certain issues. We
53 had a list, not a list, but topics to cover, whether they
54 be building and maintenance, schedule, payroll, so that we
55 could ensure we got feedback on every conceivable aspect of
56 the job within the restaurant, you know, constructive
57 feedback, constructive criticism, on both the restaurant
58 operations and the restaurant management team at that
59 restaurant. That would be through a relative, well,
60 through an impartial source, being the Supervisor from
