Day 188 - 15 Nov 95 - Page 75
1 "4. Smile requirement. I was told by managers
2 when I was serving to smile. This was generally
3 when I was on the tills. I was on the tills
4 about once a week, and I would usually be
5 watched by managers. I thought it was
6 degrading. It was foolish. You cannot smile
7 for six hours.
8
9 "5. Burns. The loose tiles were not where the
10 food was cooked or prepared, but outside, near
11 to the freezer at the back. The tiles were
12 loose all the time I was there. I complained to
13 the manager a couple of times. I cannot
14 remember the name of the manager or when it was.
15 There was grease around the chip area. This was
16 constantly the case. A section leader showed me
17 how to put salt on the floor. Section leaders
18 put salt on the floor along with other crew
19 members.
20
21 "6. In the freezers. We would have to go into
22 the freezers to rearrange the stock, to put the
23 stock in or to take it out. This only took a
24 few minutes, maybe four minutes at the most.
25 I used to use a jacket which was provided for
26 cleaning in the street. I never asked for any
27 other clothing. I do not remember anybody being
28 injured or harmed as a result of going into the
29 freezers.
30
31 "7. Employee costs ratios. I was told by a
32 manager about these ratios, this was in April,
33 by someone called John, that this was the rule,
34 but I do not know how he knew this.
35
36 "8. Dismissal on fall of takings. I do not
37 remember any instances of anyone being dismissed
38 or having to go home when the takings fell.
39
40 "9. Understaffing. The difficulty with
41 understaffing was that the job was often not
42 possible when you were on your own. When on the
43 fryer, you could not keep with keep with the
44 demands for fries. This was particularly the
45 case at busy periods like on Saturdays or after
46 the pubs closed,. Also, there was a demand from
47 servers when you were on your own, doing the
48 apple pies. Lastly, the same was true for
49 putting the bread in toasters. In all cases
50 there was often pressure by bickering from the
51 management.
52
53 "10. Hostility to trade unions. I do not
54 remember any specific examples other than in my
55 statement. I tried to start a union using
56 leaflets.
57
58 "11. Complaints. I do not remember any
59 examples of people being in fear of making
60 complaints.
