Day 301 - 15 Nov 96 - Page 34

     
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     2   MR. MORRIS:   Thank you.  Right.
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     4   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Everyone is easier to hear standing up, but
     5        if you feel you are easier sitting down close to your notes
     6        then do so.
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     8   MR. MORRIS:   Right.
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    10   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   By and large, I have no difficulty hearing
    11        you.
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    13   MR. MORRIS:   I was going to say, if I do not speak loud enough,
    14        you can always tell me.
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    16   MR. JUSTICE BELL:   Yes.
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    18   MR. MORRIS:   About the "acceptable labour costs"  targets for
    19        each store.  We had referred to a former manager in
    20        Newcastle who had been ordered to keep his labour costs
         down within targeted labour guidelines -- I can't remember
    22        the exact figure now, something like 15 percent, that would
    23        have been on page 58 that day -- or face disciplinary
    24        action.  It was part of a package of measures that he was
    25        told to take.  I can't remember the notes here.  Internal
    26        company profit and loss projections for 1992, we quoted,
    27        which revealed that the company had planned to reduce the
    28        overall percentage of turnover of crew labour costs as a
    29        percentage of sales, which, as we all know, is round about
    30        15 percent what they are targeting and planning is based
    31        around, approximately, whilst increasing the management
    32        percentage, the planned management percentage.  That was on
    33        day 120, page 55, line 15.
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    35        I think we can say from the evidence that there is a
    36        management obsession stemming from head office, through the
    37        supervisory grades down to management, with keeping labour
    38        costs as low as possible whilst still being able to serve
    39        the customers and rake in the money as quickly as they
    40        can.  But it is pretty clear, I think, that it is the key
         to the employment conditions, that the speed of work and
    42        the understaffing and the authoritarian management can only
    43        be understood in the context of the company's aim of
    44        reducing labour costs to the minimum they can.  Obviously,
    45        they cannot have five percent labour costs because they
    46        physically will not be able to serve any customers, but
    47        they try to reduce it to the minimum, and they try and do
    48        that hour by hour, and this is the key to the flexible
    49        working and no guaranteed hours.
    50
    51        I don't think it is possible to understand McDonald's
    52        employment system without putting the fanatical obsession
    53        with reducing labour costs at the centre.  Otherwise, all
    54        the other bits and pieces, such as there is the flexible
    55        working with no guaranteed work hours, and shorter breaks
    56        and understaffing, hustle, everything, seems like there is
    57        just some kind of, you know, psychological authoritarianism
    58        in the system for no reason.  Or, they have some kind of
    59        grudge against crew members, but the reality is it is not
    60        the individual, it is not the bad individuals who are