Day 143 - 27 Jun 95 - Page 24
1 have put the question on more than one occasion. I have
2 just to see what other evidence there is in the case.
3 I have some witnesses on this already. You are going to
4 call your witnesses. At the end of the day, I may have to
5 decide whether that is a realistic answer of Mr. Stein's or
6 not, but I will make the decision when I have heard all the
7 evidence. It is not helpful, I would suggest, if you do
8 not like the answer just to go over it again.
9
10 MS. STEEL: No.
11
12 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Let us see what other evidence there is.
13
14 MS. STEEL: There is just one thing I wanted to ask: If you are
15 so keen to have your employees satisfied, Mr. Stein, why do
16 you not pay them double the wages? They would be happier
17 then, would they not?
18
19 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Do not answer that question. That is a
20 matter of comment as well. I will have to decide whether
21 it is a comment of this world or some other one I have not
22 yet lived in.
23
24 MS. STEEL: It is correct, is it not, Mr. Stein, that employees
25 at McDonald's do not get holiday pay, crew members?
26 A. They are paid on holidays, if that is your question.
27
28 Q. What does that mean?
29 A. They receive wages when they work on holidays.
30
31 Q. You mean when they work on -- I do not know what you call
32 it over there -- what we call Bank Holiday?
33 A. I think you are -- are you referring to what we would
34 call legal holidays?
35
36 MR. JUSTICE BELL: Yes.
37 A. OK. When they work, well, whenever they work they are
38 paid.
39
40 MS. STEEL: But if they want to take an annual vacation, take
41 two weeks off work, they do not get paid for that, do they?
42 A. Generally speaking, no.
43
44 MR. JUSTICE BELL: You are speaking of the USA now, are you?
45 A. Yes, my Lord. That is what I thought we were limiting
46 this line of questions to. If I am wrong -----
47
48 MS. STEEL: No, I was talking about the USA. Does McDonald's in
49 the US have a policy of not allowing crew to work more than
50 40 hours a week?
51 A. It does not have a policy against that. We would
52 prefer that they not work more than 40.
53
54 Q. Is that basically because you do not want to have to pay
55 overtime rates?
56 A. We would like not to have to pay overtime, but it
57 has ------
58
59 MR. RAMPTON: My Lord, I believe that there is an inconsistency
60 in the Defendants' case ------
