Day 301 - 15 Nov 96 - Page 28

     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes.
     3
     4   MR. RAMPTON:   The Wages Act of 1986 abolished all that terrible
     5        thicket of provisions which the Wages Council Act of 1979
     6        had imposed and replaced it with a simple provision for
     7        payment of a minimum wage and overtime for workers twenty
     8        one and over.  That lasted, I think, until 1992 or 1993.
     9        The whole thing was thrown away.
    10
    11   MR. MORRIS:   Yes, that terrible thicket of provisions was, of
    12        course, protection for young employees, and there were
    13        extra provisions for other employees as well that were
    14        lost, which then paved the way for companies to further
    15        exploit their workers, especially those who did not have
    16        any trade union rights.
    17
    18        A further point is that, and I have not got the reference
    19        for this, but McDonald's staff - it is in the crew handbook
    20         - cannot supplement their wages with tips, which is
         traditional in the restaurant industry up until very
    22        recently.  It is a sackable offence.  So the normal low
    23        wages in the catering industry are compounded with the
    24        introduction of -- well, with the lack of -- traditionally
    25        the wages would be subsidised by tips, and what has
    26        happened is that the low pay has continued but the
    27        provision of tips has been taken away, for workers in fast
    28        food take-out places, generally.
    29
    30        We have heard about 66 percent of all crew at McDonald's
    31        are under 21 and a third are under 18 on even lower pay.
    32        And Mr. Nicholson said that the employment of young people
    33        was "a positive decision" for the company.  That is on day
    34        118, page 32, line 5.
    35
    36        A company letter in 1989 was quoted:  "Because we are
    37        experiencing recruitment difficulties, particularly in
    38        London and the south, some store managers have been
    39        authorised to hire people under school leaving age".  And
    40        is day 118, page 70, line 19.  This is how -- well, you can
         draw your own conclusion, really.
    42
    43        We had heard how one London Borough Council had banned the
    44        employment of under 16s at McDonald's.  I think this was
    45        day 122, page 35.  And there was some controversy about
    46        whether McDonald's actually knew what the bylaws were.  In
    47        fact, they had not known exactly.
    48
    49        Now, we have heard how the company have no guaranteed
    50        hours, about 80 percent of the crew are part time,
    51        averaging about 20 hours per week, he said.  Day 120,
    52        page 55, line 35.  He admitted that managers have the
    53        power, while any crew person is working their scheduled
    54        shift, to compulsorily cut or extend the hours being
    55        worked.  That was day 121, page 21, line 12.
    56
    57        In fact, they would have to ask to be released at the end
    58        of each shift rather than saying "right, that is it, I am
    59        off, my time is up".  Even breaks could be cut....  Sorry,
    60        that last point about cutting or extending the hours being