Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 09

     
     1
     2        "There was some interest in the situation from the press,
     3        as most Norwegians consider an agreement between workers
     4        and management as something uncontroversial and essential
     5        to secure workers their rights.  The agreement between the
     6        HRAF and McDonald's was reached the day before the strike
     7        was scheduled to start after newspapers had reported that
     8        during a strike almost no deliveries or services would be
     9        given to a restaurant with picket lines outside.
    10
    11        "The newspapers also wrote that minors had worked during
    12        the night in some of the restaurants.  Theo Holm of
    13        McDonald's has said that this only happened a few times,
    14        though this is not the case.  I myself worked until 23.30"
    15        -- that is half past 11 p.m. -- "or even until 12 when
    16        I was only 16.  If you are under 18, you may not work later
    17        than 23.00 hours.  I worked almost every Saturday night for
    18        over a year.  McDonald's claims that since they obtained
    19        permission from the parents, this was not illegal, but the
    20        law gives no allowance for parents to have any say in the
         matter."
    22
    23        That is all true and correct so far; yes?
    24        A.  Yes.
    25
    26   Q.  "In the days before the agreement was reached all workers at
    27        the restaurant were called to individual meetings with
    28        Martin Graham, the Supervisor of our restaurant.  He
    29        explained that the McDonald's 'philosophy' was not
    30        compatible with an agreement with the HRAF.  He claimed
    31        that we would receive less pay and that the whole system of
    32        the restaurant had to be changed.  He claimed that it was
    33        not in the workers' best interest to have a collective
    34        agreement.  He also claimed that the HRAF was not
    35        interested in helping the workers at McDonald's.  We were
    36        also called to a staff meeting where Theo Holm was
    37        present.  He repeated that it was not in McDonald's or the
    38        workers' interest that there should be an agreement between
    39        McDonald's and the HRAF.
    40
         "Personally, I was banned from the restaurant during
    42        non-working hours in the weeks before the agreement was
    43        reached.
    44
    45        "About one month after the agreement was signed, HRAF found
    46        out that McDonald's had moved all the stocks that was our
    47        restaurant from a company called Zero-Five II A/S to one
    48        called McDonald's Norway A/S.  The agreement which was
    49        signed was therefore not legally valid because Theo Holm
    50        signed an agreement between Zero-Five II A/S and HRAF. 
    51 
    52        "Some of the management team in my restaurant were also 
    53        openly hostile to a collective agreement.  Store Manager
    54        Inge Nygard, First assistant Rune" -- have you got a second
    55        name?
    56        A.  Yes; that is Rune Stadven.
    57
    58   Q.   Can you spell the second name?
    59        A.  S-T-A-D-V-E-N, something like that.
    60