Day 192 - 27 Nov 95 - Page 20
1 minimum wage. You understand me? But the last time when
2 that happened during the union, I kept, I believe, part of
3 my increase. When the union was in power, it was
4 November 1st 1993 that this would have happened. When the
5 minimum wage went up, I kept my increase on top of that.
6
7 Q. So the differential, if you like, from the performance
8 reviews would be lost when people's wages were increased
9 because of the minimum wage increase?
10 A. Yes.
11
12 Q. But during the union period, people would keep those, would
13 they, those ---
14 A. Yes.
15
16 Q. -- differentials?
17
18 MR. JUSTICE BELL: We will take the five-minute break there.
19
20 (Short Adjournment)
21
22 MR. MORRIS: Just before we go on to the union drive, you have
23 said in your second statement, about a counter person's
24 job: "They don't let you rest, just don't stop. It is like
25 you are a robot", and you talked about being on or very
26 close to the minimum wage. Now, they both applied when
27 Mr. Tingle was the store owner; is that correct?
28 A. When Mr. Tingle owned the store, it was a little bit
29 more lax. It was not -- we were not quite as under
30 pressure. It was not as intimidating. But, yes, you still
31 had to keep going; still a rushed atmosphere, still very
32 rushed.
33
34 Q. Because then you say: "Under the management that was there
35 when I first went to work at McDonald's, it was fine. You
36 were treated with respect." Can you just explain what you
37 mean by "it was fine"?
38 A. The way I define "fine" at that restaurant was, we were
39 treated as human beings, we were treated with dignity and
40 respect; and it was not, like, when you went in for work
41 you did not feel that you had to watch out because of what
42 type of mood the managers were in, whether you keep your
43 job or lose your job that day.
44
45 Q. So, was it a question of management style, then?
46 A. I believe so.
47
48 Q. But the work, was the work -- well, we will leave it at
49 that.
50
51 One of the witnesses that appeared before for McDonald's --
52 I cannot remember which one it was -- said something about
53 a change with Mr. Ballantyne, or a big change was that
54 there were problems with unsafe food being sold with
55 Mr. Tingle. Were there any differences between Mr. Tingle
56 and Mr. Ballantyne in terms of, you know, the food safety?
57 A. No, I do not believe so. It was probably about the
58 same when Ballantyne took over. There were still problems
59 with the quarter pounders being cooked thoroughly; like, a
60 lot of the time, they were still sort of raw in the
