5 June 2022
For more than two years the SDA has been investigating McDonald’s (McDonald’s Australia and McDonald’s licensees) for underpaying managers and crew and ignoring workplace rights at McDonald’s sites across Australia.
The union has written to McDonald’s Australia and all Australian Licensee’s asking them to do the right thing and honour McDonald’s crew and managers rights.
McDonald’s have responded by offering new manager Individual Flexibility Agreements (IFAs) across Australia that say managers will receive a 10% pay rise, a move worth $30 million a year.
McDonald’s proposed new IFAs take away manager’s Fast Food Industry Award rights to uninterrupted meal and paid rest breaks in exchange for a 10% hourly allowance.
The failure of McDonald’s and dozens of its franchisees to allow thousands of its workers rest breaks to which they have been legally entitled over the past six years could see current and former employees entitled to back pay of up to $200 million.
The SDA has repeatedly called out McDonald’s for breaking workplace laws with illegal behaviour including:
- not paying for work McDonald’s makes managers do, like pre and post shift checks
- not paying travel time
- not paying travel allowances
- illegal anti-union conduct.
The SDA is continuing to lodge Federal Court actions against McDonald’s for deliberately denying managers and crew rest breaks to which they were legally entitled.
Quotes from Gerard Dwyer, National Secretary the SDA:
“McDonald’s knows managers have missed out on their legal right to rest breaks – when that was never the deal under existing IFAs.
“That’s why McDonald’s is offering more money – to try to make it legal for managers to go without rest breaks in future, when managers have missed out on rest breaks for years.
“McDonald’s knows it has done the wrong thing; but what is it doing to compensate managers for years of missing out on their workplace rights? Managers worked hard for McDonald’s when they had a legal right to take a break and get paid for it.
“McDonald’s kept its labour costs down by managers working when they were supposed to get a paid break. McDonald’s has not offered managers any compensation, not even an apology.
“McDonald’s should do a full audit of manager’s pay for the past six years and make sure managers are compensated for not getting their legal rights – that’s what the SDA is campaigning for.
“A free soft drink is not a substitute for a paid rest break nor is a Big Mac is not a substitute for a pay rise.”
Contact: Jim Middleton 0418 627 066