Open letter to Russel Creedy from Unite over Alternative holiday theft
———- Forwarded message ———-
From: Mike Treen <mike@unite.org.nz>
Date: 12 December 2017 at 13:48
Subject: Open letter to Russel Creedy from Unite over Alternative holiday theft
To: Russel Creedy <russel.creedy@rbd.co.nz>
Cc: Jennifer Buddle <Jennifer.Buddle@rbd.co.nz>, Gerard Hehir <gerard@unite.org.nz>
Dear Russel,
It is with great concern that the manipulation of rosters to deny staff alternative holidays at Restaurant Brands has been confirmed to be so widespread that it must have been company policy at a senior level.
When we raised this problem with your HR department in the past they denied it was policy and said it was just being done by some rogue managers.
This is clearly not the case.
The company policy in the past was that you had to have worked three out of four of the previous Monday’s if the public holiday was on a Monday to earn an entitlement to a lieu day. This was a narrow interpretation designed to benefit the company but even that policy was deliberately manipulated to deny entitlement.
The Employment Relations Authority has now ruled that a simple majority of weeks worked over three month period to avoid manipulation is enough to trigger an entitlement.
As a chief executive, who was paid a million dollar bonus because of the success of the company, you have to take moral and legal responsibility for ensuring all staff get their legal entitlements.
The company, or at least the agents of the company, have failed to be open and honest with Unite or its staff over this issue. We have lost confidence in their ability to do so in the future.
At the same time, we are still waiting for a substantive response to the annual leave calculation issue that we first raised in February 2015, over two and a half years ago. Unite Union, despite alerting RBL to the issue in the first place, has not been consulted or involved in the investigation of and solution to the problem. RBL has only provided us with a brief timeline for remediation that will now clearly not be met. Our members, your employees, simply do not have confidence that RBL will make sure they get the wages and leave they are legally entitled to.
We would like a meeting with you personally to get an assurance that this will not continue and that that company accepts it has been at fault and will do all in its power to ensure that the thousands of staff who have worked for the company over at least the past six years get their legal entitlements.
Regards,
Mike
Here we go again , … these rogue type company’s , – still thinking this is the 1980’s and 1990’s and the Business Roundtable are calling the shots behind the scenes and enabling theft of the workers wages and conditions.
NO.
Times have moved on , … but the fiscally hopeful rogue employers obviously haven’t.
They are still pulling the same old tired lines they were back then. Well , we have a new govt now, … no longer a National govt that is anti Trade Union. And , – lo and behold , – one that will be seeking to RAISE the MINIMUM WAGE to a LIVING WAGE.
That’s right.
And do we think for one minute theft ,… such as denying holidays, … will be tolerated once exposed throughout so many rogue NZ businesses?
Not likely.
So guess who’s going to have to do the changing.
This WHY these businesses being run on skulduggery need to be exposed. Constantly and relentlessly. And , – if necessary , – brought before our courts , fined and being forced to remunerate workers and change their current practices.
This country has a long way to go to rectify the damage caused by the Business Roundtable ( aka the New Zealand Initiative ) , Roger Douglas , – and specifically , – Ruth Richardson with her 1991 Employment Contracts Act.
And it appears this company named above in Mike Treens article is just yet more one of them that needs to be dealt with accordingly…
This proves, yet again, why trade unions are essential in any modern society. Where there are bosses and shareholders, there will always be an attempt to suppress wages so that profits are maximised. Shame on restaurant brands. Name and shame!!!
Is it bad that that bucket of KFC has me hankering for some?
That chicken is fried in the tears of downtrodden workers. And it makes you fat. Still hungry?
Also wendys have been found wanting so what is the bet Mc Donalds is pulling the same shit.
They’re all at it. Give them an inch and they’ll take your fucking arm off. One of the reasons they so adored Key was because he essentially gave them free rein to hammer their workers into the ground and sack anyone who whinged about it. “Shut up and fry some more chicken, scum. You’re an eminently replaceable cog in a giant creaking money engine. Don’t think we won’t bin you at the end of your shift.”
I’ve had some crap jobs in my time, but I’m fortunate to never have had to toil fruitlessly on the hamster wheel of exploitation that is fast food. Poor buggers.