Day 145 - 29 Jun 95 - Page 50
1 Q. That would go to things such as Company minutes, if they
2 existed, and records?
3 A. If they are pertinent to the matter at hand, sure.
4
5 Q. The fact is, Mr. Stein, if, as you say, the records that we
6 have intimated we have asked about do not exist, it is
7 because you have a policy of avoiding having documents that
8 parties involved in litigation can get access to?
9 A. Absolutely not. This may surprise you, but over the
10 years I cannot recall many law suits, if any, where I was
11 required to hand over documents of the nature you are
12 talking about. It is not done for that purpose at all.
13
14 Q. One question on the Philadelphia document. As we have
15 looked at, the whole range of documents have been provided
16 by your organisation, McDonald's Corporation, regarding
17 that dispute, the wage survey dispute, the PUP survey,
18 various leaflets by PUP and others, newspaper cuttings,
19 letters with, you know, nuns, Ministers, etc., etc.,
20 releases issued at the time by the operators, but the most
21 important document of all, the Towers & Perrin report, was
22 mysteriously destroyed after the dispute?
23 A. I disagree with your characterisation. I did not keep
24 any of those documents, if I recall correctly, others kept
25 them. I did not keep any of those documents.
26
27 Q. I did not say you kept them. I said you, the Corporation,
28 provided them to this hearing, but the key document that
29 would vindicate McDonald's position, would actually provide
30 some evidence, is not ----
31 A. Wait a second. What you are calling the "key" document
32 was something that Towers & Perrin handed over to me that
33 our owner/operators in order to get them to co-operate in
34 this survey, they asked me to keep it confidential. I did
35 keep it confidential. After a certain period of time when
36 the problem was over there was no need to keep it. As
37 I mentioned, I did not keep any of the documents with
38 regard to the Philadelphia matter. I took everything I had
39 apparently at some point and discarded it.
40
41 Q. Yes, but you said you offered the document ----
42
43 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We are arguing it again now. We went through
44 it before. This is just rehearsing what you might say to
45 me if you wanted to in the future.
46
47 MR. MORRIS: I am sure if one of those documents exists it will
48 be disclosed to us.
49
50 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You have just done yet again what I invited
51 not to.
52
53 MR. MORRIS: I know. I could not resist it! I think we are
54 very close to finishing.
55
56 MS. STEEL: No further questions.
57
58 Re-Examined by Mr. Rampton Q.C.
59
60 MR. RAMPTON: Mr. Stein, only one thing. Do you remember
