Statement from Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary of the SDA – the union for retail, fast food and warehouse workers:
“The SDA is extremely disappointed that McDonald’s has today withdrawn the proposed enterprise agreement from the registration process before the Fair Work Commission.
“The proposed agreement was reached after lengthy negotiations between the parties and while a full agreement wasn’t reached on all issues, the EBA was endorsed by a majority of McDonald’s employees and straightforward undertakings would have delivered an outcome for employees
superior to the Fast Food Award.
“It appears that the uncertainty around registration requirements, created by recent decisions of the Fair Work Commission, has been a primary consideration in McDonald’s decision to discontinue the Agreement application.
“The processes around workplace bargaining and registering Agreements must always be based on proper protections for workers, but those processes need to be simpler and fairer.
“The SDA will continue to engage McDonald’s on behalf of its members and represent their workplace interests.
“Australian workers want fair agreements and certainty in the bargaining process, but the current workplace rules in Australia don’t deliver this.”
Media contact: Alana Mew 0419 929 722