Day 187 - 13 Nov 95 - Page 11

     
     1        informed the Manager, who responded I should not pay too
     2        much regard to these.  Some of the problems, amongst
     3        others" -- and I will number these -- "(1) regular
     4        occurrences of not appearing in payslips and therefore not
     5        remunerated."
     6
     7        Can he just explain what that means?
     8
     9   THE INTERPRETER:  I believe there is an omittance here in the
    10        translation.  It should read "the regular occurrence of
    11        hours worked not appearing in payslips and therefore not
    12        remunerated".
    13
    14   MR. MORRIS:   That clarifies that point.
    15
    16        "The employees were not allowed rest breaks after five
    17        hours of work, as required in the collective convention" --
    18        sorry, that is number (2).
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I would like you to ask -- and this is as
         good as stage as any -- what the collective convention is,
    22        what that means.
    23
    24   MR. MORRIS:  Yes.  Can you explain to the court what the
    25        collective convention is?
    26        A.  A collective convention in France is like a workers'
    27        code.  It is made up of a union of employers and a union of
    28        employees, who get together with someone from the
    29        Department of Employment who has to ratify the workers'
    30        code; and in this way they negotiate the terms of the
    31        collective convention.
    32
    33   Q.   Who does the collective convention apply to?
    34        A.  It is applied to all those working in fast food
    35        restaurantation.  He said, in France there are many
    36        different collective conventions.  Each trade would have
    37        its convention.  In this case, it applies to fast food
    38        restaurantation, and this collective convention refers to
    39        that which deals with fast food restaurantation.
    40
    Q.   How long has this collective convention been in existence?
    42        A.  Since 1988.
    43
    44   Q.   Number (3):  "The time required to count cash" -----
    45
    46   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just pause a moment, please, Mr. Morris.
    47
    48   MR. MORRIS:  Maybe there is a further question.
    49
    50   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  I wanted to ask:  is the convention modified 
    51        each year, or for how long does the convention stay in 
    52        force? 
    53        A.  The collective convention is not modified.  Let me give
    54        you an example.  It deals only with benefits for the
    55        workers.  Each year, these working conditions are
    56        negotiated for the workers, for the workforce.  Another
    57        example:  if a worker is paid 37 francs, the following
    58        year, following negotiations, that tariff may be
    59        increased.
    60