Day 189 - 20 Nov 95 - Page 25


     
     1        the trade union.  But there is a thing there about ---
     2
     3   Q.   It says up here ---
     4        A.  -- Martin Coughlin.
     5
     6   Q.   -- 20 involved?
     7        A.  Pardon?
     8
     9   Q.   It says here in the third paragraph:  "Martin Coughlin felt
    10        there could possibly be up to 20 involved."
    11        A.  Yes.  He had a sort of private conversation with me,
    12        and he was asking me, you know, was I not satisfied with
    13        the conditions, and I told him I was not.  This was after
    14        one of the -- they were called rap sessions, actually,
    15        where the crew are -- that is a McDonald's word -- where
    16        the staff members would have to meet.
    17
    18   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Who asked you -- Mr. Mehigan?
    19        A.  No, Mr. Coughlin, Martin Coughlin, it was at this
    20        stage.  He was the Store Manager; and he more or less said
    21        to me, he says: "They are the pay and conditions you joined
    22        under, and if you do not like them you can leave", and
    23        I said:  "I do not see why I should leave just because I do
    24        not like, you know, the pay and conditions", or I thought
    25        it could be rectified.
    26
    27        Jobs were very hard to get in Dublin at this stage, because
    28        there is a vast young population there and it was at the
    29        height of the recession.  It was hitting very, very hard in
    30        Dublin, so jobs were hard to get.  So you just did not
    31        really want to give up a job.
    32
    33   MR. MORRIS:  After your meeting with Martin Coughlin, were you
    34        satisfied or unsatisfied with the meeting?
    35        A.  I was not particularly satisfied.  I had got -- I think
    36        at that stage I had got a wage rise, which was 10 pence,
    37        which was considered really good.  That meant your
    38        attitude -- no.  What happened was, it meant that you were
    39        a very good worker.  But I asked him why I did not get the
    40        full, I think it was 12 pence or 15 pence rise.  He
    41        says:  "Your attitude was wrong", meaning, like, I was
    42        pro-trade union.  As far as I got it, that is what it
    43        meant.
    44
    45   Q.   But then, having got a 10 pence pay rise, your pay was now
    46        satisfactory?
    47        A.  No, not at all.  I thought it was terrible.
    48
    49   Q.   Thought it was what?
    50        A.  Terrible -- because McDonald's made vast sums of money, 
    51        up to maybe £1,000 an hour across the till. 
    52 
    53   Q.   When did you actually join the union?  Did you join before
    54        the strike started?
    55        A.  Yes.  I was one of the initial people who went down to
    56        Liberty Hall, which is the trade union headquarters in
    57        Dublin, and we joined this -- I think, initially, there
    58        were eight of us went down initially from the
    59        O'Connell Street branch, and then after the dispute started
    60        we were joined by -- more people joined the union.

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