Day 187 - 13 Nov 95 - Page 25
1 as we have had before, but rather the reverse of it. They
2 could not collect the 50 from any one individual
3 restaurant, but over the 12 they had the 50; and McDonald's
4 France confirmed that it was, in effect, one franchisee who
5 was running all the restaurants. So, provided they got 50
6 from the 12, they got the accreditation. Is that how you
7 understand it?
8
9 MR. MORRIS: My understanding is that they opposed -- they said
10 that the stores were all separate enterprises.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes. That is another way of putting what
13 I have tried to put.
14
15 MR. MORRIS: You may remember, it is the opposite of what -----
16
17 MR. JUSTICE BELL: In effect, the court ruled that it was one
18 concern, so they could collect the minimum of 50 from any
19 one or all of those stores.
20
21 MR. MORRIS: Yes. I am not sure on the membership.
22 (To the witness): How many members did the union have in
23 Lyon stores?
24 A. I am not sure of the exact number -- about 100. Since
25 I have been union representative, I have seen about 400
26 different employees about problems that they faced within
27 their restaurants.
28
29 Q. So when he said -- sorry. When you say "seen", does he
30 mean interviewed?
31
32 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Well, he has talked to them?
33 A. The employees come to his office and expose the
34 problems that they have in their restaurant. I write down
35 the problems; I go to the restaurants to check on these
36 problems; I talk to the person responsible within the
37 restaurant; and, if nothing is done, I bring in the works
38 inspectorate.
39
40 Q. When you mentioned 50 workers, was that because the union
41 is entitled to recognition if it has 50 members working for
42 a particular employer? What was the significance of the
43 50 employees?
44 A. It is nothing to do with being a member of the CFDT.
45 French law says that when a company employs more than
46 50 workers on a full-time basis, they then have the right
47 to the creation of a works council for any company; and,
48 for this reason, McDonald's Lyon refused my designation.
49
50 Q. Is there the same qualification for entitlement to a
51 representative, a staff representative?
52
53 THE INTERPRETER: I am sorry, I do not quite understand.
54
55 MR. JUSTICE BELL: French law says that when a company employs
56 more than 50 workers on a full-time basis, they then have
57 the right to the creation of a works council. Do they then
58 also have the right to a staff representative?
59 A. No. For a staff representative, there must be more
60 than 11 workers in the company.
