Day 182 - 02 Nov 95 - Page 08

     
     1        A.  It is not exactly union, but it is -----
     2
     3   MR. MORRIS:  Association?
     4        A.  Association.  Exactly, thank you.
     5
     6   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  Just let me make a note.
     7
     8   MR. MORRIS:  That is a section of the HRAF?
     9        A.  Yes.
    10
    11   Q.   Which is a large union, is it?
    12        A.  Yes.  That is one of 100 sections, I believe -- close
    13        to 100.
    14
    15   Q.   Could I ask you a question?  How long have you been a union
    16        member?
    17        A.  Since soon after I started.  I think I got into the
    18        union in 1989, but I did not tell anyone about it until the
    19        matter of our collective agreement came up in 1993.
    20
    Q.   If I just read the rest of the statement, and then if
    22        anything is not true or not accurate, or something, you can
    23        stop me; otherwise I will ask you at the end if the whole
    24        statement is your evidence.
    25
    26        "During the summer and autumn of 1993, there were
    27        negotiations between HRAF and McDonald's.  This was because
    28        12 of the closers, the people who washed the restaurant
    29        during the night, had entered the union seeking better pay
    30        and better working conditions."
    31        A.  Yes.  I have to stop you there.  I have had a look at
    32        the papers, and there were 11 of them, that is, 10 of them
    33        union members.
    34
    35   Q.   Thank you.  So it should read:  "This was because 11 of the
    36        closers, 10 of whom were union members"; yes?
    37        A.  Yes.
    38
    39   Q.  "....the people who washed the restaurant during the night
    40        had entered the union seeking better pay and better working
         conditions.   McDonald's first reaction to this was to give
    42        all of them one month's notice, claiming they were no
    43        longer needed because new equipment and washing machines"
    44        -- were, presumably, being purchased or something?
    45        A.  Yes.
    46
    47   Q.   "The HRAF pointed out that the grills and other equipment
    48        would still need to be washed by hand or put into the
    49        washing machines and said they would take these dismissals
    50        to court to prove they were necessary.  McDonald's quickly 
    51        withdrew the dismissals. 
    52 
    53        "We have, since December 1993, had a collective agreement
    54        between McDonald's and HRAF, the Norwegian Hotel and
    55        Restaurant Workers union.  The agreement between McDonald's
    56        and the HRAF was not easily reached, and after all the
    57        different rounds of negotiations that Norwegian law
    58        describes before workers can legally strike, an agreement
    59        had still not been reached.  The workers and the HRAF
    60        therefore prepared to strike.