In his email to the McDonald's network, obtained by Fairfax Media, Australian chief executive Andrew Gregory says the "last thing" McDonald's wants is to "get into a public debate" about enterprise agreements. McDonald's Credit:Christopher Pearce "What we are working to do is broaden the focus of this story, to make it more about the issue of industrial relations and less about McDonald's." Follow BusinessDay on LinkedIn The email provides a rare insight into McDonald's political strategy and, in particular, the coziness of its relationship with the conservative SDA, the ALP's largest union affiliate.

In it, Mr Gregory says McDonald's is relying on its "partners" to make its case in the pay and penalties debate. "The SDA will continue to clarify the facts on our behalf," he writes. He also reveals McDonald's is in ongoing, "direct" discussions with government ministers, and with "both sides of politics", about its stance on industrial matters. A package of documents distributed by Mr Gregory to the McDonald's franchisees - they control hundreds of stores - includes media releases from both the SDA and the AI Group. As McDonald's requested, both the union and employer lobby were active in the media on Friday. Pressed for his view, Australian Council of Trade Unions secretary Dave Oliver said he understood the SDA/McDonald's agreement had been struck according to an enterprise bargaining system that allows employers and unions to negotiate on pay and conditions above the minimum, and subject to the Better Off Overall Test. However, working closely, the SDA and McDonald's were able to largely skip around that legal requirement by signing the agreement in mid 2013 and measuring it largely against archaic state awards.