Staff from two branches of restaurant walk out over company’s use of zero-hour contracts and lack of union recognition

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

Up to 200 people rallied outside the Houses of Parliament in London to protest against poor pay and conditions at McDonald’s as workers at the restaurant staged their first UK strike.

Employees, union workers and members of parliament, including the shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, gathered on College Green as part of an international day of action on Monday.

About 40 staff from McDonald’s restaurants in Cambridge and Crayford, south-east London, walked out over the multibillion dollar company’s use of zero-hour contracts and lack of union recognition.

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Addressing the crowd, McDonnell paid tribute to everyone who had come out in action or solidarity, calling them an “absolute inspiration”.

He told the Guardian: “These are workers who are extremely vulnerable in terms of their employment conditions. And yet at the same time they’ve had the courage to come on strike. They’ve said: ‘We’ve had enough and we need to negotiate.’

“If I was McDonald’s management I’d be listening very carefully today. I’d contact the union and I’d get round that table.”

The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) said the strike was being well supported. Its general secretary, Ronnie Draper, told the rally they were the “heroes and heroines” of their generation.

Labour MP John Spellar said: “It’s not a one-off issue. It’s not just about wages … it’s about being treated with respect and not being bullied.”

Members of other trade unions joined early-morning picket lines outside the two restaurants, while the Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, offered his backing.

The workers are calling for a wage of at least £10 an hour and more secure working hours.

McDonald’s said those taking action represented 0.01% of its workforce, adding that the dispute was related to its internal grievance procedures.

The company, which employs about 85,000 staff in the UK and 1 million worldwide, announced in April that workers would be offered a choice of flexible or fixed contracts with minimum guaranteed hours, saying that 86% have chosen to stay on flexible contracts.

“We’ve had that promise before,” McDonnell said on Monday, “but it hasn’t been realised. The best security we can have is them recognising trade unions so grievances can get resolved rather than strike action.”

Other speakers included a choir dressed up as the McDonald’s mascot Ronald McDonald, who called themselves the Evil Ronalds. Lorna McKinnon, 24, and Toni Bruce, 26, both workers in the services industry in Glasgow, performed a spoken word piece and commended fast food worker’s ability to organise themselves.

“We think what the guys in Cambridge and Crayford are doing is utterly inspiring,” McKinnon said. “Not just for fast food workers but for every worker.”

Abdi Biin, 20, left McDonald’s after his hours were cut because he complained about not being allowed to wear gloves to cook. “I’m here to help McDonald’s employees get rights and the living wage. They don’t pay for overtime, there’s health and safety issues, a lot of things that a trade union could help with,” he said.

“Workers need to be protected. All McDonald’s cares about is profit. There’s no middle person to help workers, no one’s going to help them on the higher levels.”

Biin said he used to get paid around £5.30 an hour. “I worked long hours, it wasn’t enough. I remember someone worked two jobs in a theme park and McDonald’s because the pay was so bad.”

A McDonald’s spokesman said the company was “providing our people with the option of a guaranteed hour contract, and all restaurants will have these contracts in place by the end of 2017”.

He said the company “and its franchisees had delivered three pay rises since April 2016, increasing the average hourly pay rate by 15%.

“We are proud of our people at McDonald’s, they are at the heart of all we do and we work hard to ensure that our teams are treated fairly. Our internal processes underpin that commitment.”

