Unite Union has reached an agreement with McDonald’s over ending zero hour contracts and other issues in dispute with the company.
This is a historic agreement. Now all the of the major fast food chains have committed to ending zero hours. This is the culmination of a decade long campaign for secure hours by Unite Union. It will be welcomed by tens of thousands of workers in the fast food industry and hundreds of thousands more who will ultimately benefit in other industries. It represents a fundamental shift in the employment relationship of the most vulnerable workers in the country.
At McDonald’s 80 percent of hours worked over a three month period will be guaranteed. A survey on hours worked will be done every three months. This means the secure hours will be able to increase over time. The guarantee will begin from July 1. The company and union will review the application of this clause in March 2016. Both sides now accept that the clause will lead to greater security and regularity around rostered shifts.
That means we are able to call off the planned strikes at McDonald’s stores around the country.
In some cases it will be too late to cancel the planned gatherings so we want supporters to have a victory celebration but not interfere with customer access.
We haven’t finalised all details in the agreement but we are convinced there is good will on both sides to work through the remaining issues without further protests being required.
The company has agreed to work with the union on how the guarantee of 80% of hours worked will impact on the regularity and security of shifts in the future. There is also a ratification payment for union members only and a form for new staff at the head office owned McOpco stores to trial a system of indicating a desire to join the union. Franchise owners can also use the form. A working party will look at access protocols and the breaks regime.
Unite wants to thanks the people of New Zealand for their support in this fight. We would not have been able to get this agreement on our own. McDonald’s decision must mean the end of zero hour contracts elsewhere in New Zealand.
Unite calls on the government to turn this decision into law for other workers in the country.
very good
Bloody excellent!!
Yes, ok, thanks, Mike Treen and Unite, I went along to one of the events and the pickets, but I wish more would have joined.
At least Unite are active, most other “unions” seem to be asleep most the time.
Also this is just a temporary “win”, to be honest, as Mike said on Radio NZ National this morning, there is much more to do, as so many other sectors still use and rely on “zero hour contracts”.
Even Councils do, so they should be publicly shamed, for sure.
I know Unite Union do themselves not have the resources needed to raise and address all this, so Labour, and Greens and others in opposition are asked to step up to the challenge.
There should be NO zero hour contracts, precarious employment must be stopped and abolished, and once we have job security again, we will have economic and social and other benefits. People will suffer less poor health and have more to spend, and that can only be a win win situation.
Under the present government we will NEVER achieve that, as they are nasty little narrow minded cutters, cut by cut, and harass, chase and persecute, that is their “economic medicine”, and if that does not work, they outsource, privatise and contract out, the shameless criminals.
It is the 1st of May, May Day in much of the world, I wish some more New Zealanders would understand the meaning of the day:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Workers%27_Day
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haymarket_affair
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/May_Day
Not all work is “healthy” by the way, despite of government propaganda:
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/16737-work-has-fewer-%e2%80%9chealth-benefits%e2%80%9d-than-mansel-aylward-and-other-so-called-experts-claim-it-can-cause-serious-harm/
http://accforum.org/forums/index.php?/topic/17163-mental-health-employment-service-sole-parent-employment-service-oia-info-implies-msd-trials-a-failure/
Great work from Mike Treen and the team.
However the victory may be short-lived.
If NZ signs up to the Pan Pacific Trade agreement there will be NOTHING that we as a country can do to stop McDonald’s and other Corporates re-introducing zero-hour contracts.
And if we do try to stop their re-introduction, they will take us to court and sue us for making changes that impact on McDonald’s and other corporates’ bottom lines.
That is EXACTLY what the Corporates want from the PPTA and that is exactly what they will get, because Groser and Key have, (as far as we can make out from the leaks thus far), shown no inclination whatsoever to remove those clauses that so severely impact upon our right to make our own laws in this country.
Roll on NZ as the 53rd or 54th (or whatever) State of the USA (depending on where we are in the pecking order against other PPTA signatories in the current round).
Oh yeah.Just to say I agree with everything said & ‘my cup runneth over in delight
Exellent.
But there is now two other things to be done.
1) The Double Dipper from Dipton . The obscenity of having a man like that in charge of the Finance portfolio. He must resign. He is the man who stated ” we should be glad we have a LOW WAGE ECONOMY as this encourages foreign investment ”.
There we have it. This is what your average hard right neo liberal thinks of the workers. That they are nothing more than expendable items.
And where does the strength to justify this obscene attitude come from?
….this brings us to the king hit.
2) The Employment Contracts Act 1991. This must be scrapped. At once. The most vile piece of legislation that ever was rammed through parliament has raped working people for nearly 24 years .
This more than any other piece of legislation needs to be constantly focused on until until we see its demise.
THAT is when there will be a massive victory for the average working person in this country.
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