This is the kind of Union we need, Union that fight for the people.
Unlike NTUC, who's with the government, against the people.
The New Zealand Herald
Thousands of fast-food workers across New Zealand are expected to join an international day of strike action today to protest zero hours contracts.
New Zealand service industry workers will take to the streets from this afternoon to picket companies like fast food giant McDonald's after mediation attempts between unions and bosses fell through last night.
The strikes today are the first in an international day of action by fast-food workers demanding secure hours, better pay and union representation, Unite Union said.
Tens of thousands of workers are expected to join the actions worldwide.
Unite National Director Mike Treen said the strike would go-ahead today after talks collapsed last night, saying McDonald's offer was "a joke".
"They claimed they would guarantee 80 per cent of their 'rostered hours'. But rosters can go up and down and workers have no control over them. There is no way for workers to verify the fairness of a roster," he said.
"Workers usually work 20 per cent more hours than they are rostered. By offering 80 per cent of 80 per cent we are getting to a pretty small number."
Read more:
• Woodhouse signals changes to zero-hour contracts
• Restaurant Brands says no to zero hour contracts
Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Mr Treen said the union had been successful in negotiations with Restaurant Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr, and Burger King and had moved to ditch zero hours contracts from its business.
Restaurant Brands had agreed to move to contracts offering 80 per cent of hours worked, Mr Treen said, while Burger King "were even better" and moved towards a fixed-shift regime within six months.
"Obviously they need some time to work out the new rosters and all the rest of it, but it's going to be people working shifts they know from week-to-week, which is the ideal we're aiming for, so we're very pleased with that," he said.
He was disappointed in McDonald's refusal to agree to the proposed offer of 80 per cent of hours worked, Mr Treen said.
"We think we've been very flexible in our offers," he said.
"We're saying all you have to do is measure the hours these people are actually working from week-to-week over a three month period, and then you guarantee, not 100 per cent of that, but 80 per cent of that.
"So you've got enormous flexibility to go up and down for ... whatever it is that they might be worried about. But at least the worker knows that from week-to-week the variation can't be too dramatic."
However, McDonald's hit out at the union saying the strike action was "a stunt", and had nothing to do with the negotiations.
"We offered earlier this week a move to secure hours for our people in our restaurants, this was post a vote by Unite union to go to a strike," Chris Hutton, director of human resources and talent at McDonald's NZ, said on Newstalk ZB.
"We believe that the strike today is targeted at McDonald's and the reason for the strike is based on an agenda that sat with them for the last six or so weeks around the global day of action that's being driven internationally," she said, adding: "We don't think the arguments that Unite are now making are genuine."
Unite's statements over the negotiations were "very misleading", she said.
"We don't have restraints in our contracts, our people don't wait for calls to work. What we have offered to do - it's a real and genuine offer - to secure hours and to write that up into our employment agreement."
In an updated statement issued this morning, McDonald's said: "For clarity - McDonald's has offered to move to a new contract that is a not a zero hours contract.
"We've committed to negotiate the detail. Over recent days Unite has stalled the process in order to carry out a strike today it has had planned for several weeks."
Labour's spokesman on employment issues, Iain Lees-Galloway, said Burger King's axing of zero hours contracts was "further evidence good employers do not need to use them".
"No one is prepared to defend the use of zero-hour contracts," he said.
"The Government needs to stop dancing around the issue and introduce legislation which deals with all negative aspects of these contracts not just some of them."
Strike action is due to take place across all the main centres, starting from noon in Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington, 5pm in Dunedin and 6pm in Christchurch.
The union is also running a petition letter to McDonald's on its website, asking the company to end zero hour contracts.
Unlike NTUC, who's with the government, against the people.
The New Zealand Herald
Thousands of fast-food workers across New Zealand are expected to join an international day of strike action today to protest zero hours contracts.
New Zealand service industry workers will take to the streets from this afternoon to picket companies like fast food giant McDonald's after mediation attempts between unions and bosses fell through last night.
The strikes today are the first in an international day of action by fast-food workers demanding secure hours, better pay and union representation, Unite Union said.
Tens of thousands of workers are expected to join the actions worldwide.
Unite National Director Mike Treen said the strike would go-ahead today after talks collapsed last night, saying McDonald's offer was "a joke".
"They claimed they would guarantee 80 per cent of their 'rostered hours'. But rosters can go up and down and workers have no control over them. There is no way for workers to verify the fairness of a roster," he said.
"Workers usually work 20 per cent more hours than they are rostered. By offering 80 per cent of 80 per cent we are getting to a pretty small number."
Read more:
• Woodhouse signals changes to zero-hour contracts
• Restaurant Brands says no to zero hour contracts
Speaking on Newstalk ZB this morning, Mr Treen said the union had been successful in negotiations with Restaurant Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Carl's Jr, and Burger King and had moved to ditch zero hours contracts from its business.
Restaurant Brands had agreed to move to contracts offering 80 per cent of hours worked, Mr Treen said, while Burger King "were even better" and moved towards a fixed-shift regime within six months.
"Obviously they need some time to work out the new rosters and all the rest of it, but it's going to be people working shifts they know from week-to-week, which is the ideal we're aiming for, so we're very pleased with that," he said.
He was disappointed in McDonald's refusal to agree to the proposed offer of 80 per cent of hours worked, Mr Treen said.
"We think we've been very flexible in our offers," he said.
"We're saying all you have to do is measure the hours these people are actually working from week-to-week over a three month period, and then you guarantee, not 100 per cent of that, but 80 per cent of that.
"So you've got enormous flexibility to go up and down for ... whatever it is that they might be worried about. But at least the worker knows that from week-to-week the variation can't be too dramatic."
However, McDonald's hit out at the union saying the strike action was "a stunt", and had nothing to do with the negotiations.
"We offered earlier this week a move to secure hours for our people in our restaurants, this was post a vote by Unite union to go to a strike," Chris Hutton, director of human resources and talent at McDonald's NZ, said on Newstalk ZB.
"We believe that the strike today is targeted at McDonald's and the reason for the strike is based on an agenda that sat with them for the last six or so weeks around the global day of action that's being driven internationally," she said, adding: "We don't think the arguments that Unite are now making are genuine."
Unite's statements over the negotiations were "very misleading", she said.
"We don't have restraints in our contracts, our people don't wait for calls to work. What we have offered to do - it's a real and genuine offer - to secure hours and to write that up into our employment agreement."
In an updated statement issued this morning, McDonald's said: "For clarity - McDonald's has offered to move to a new contract that is a not a zero hours contract.
"We've committed to negotiate the detail. Over recent days Unite has stalled the process in order to carry out a strike today it has had planned for several weeks."
Labour's spokesman on employment issues, Iain Lees-Galloway, said Burger King's axing of zero hours contracts was "further evidence good employers do not need to use them".
"No one is prepared to defend the use of zero-hour contracts," he said.
"The Government needs to stop dancing around the issue and introduce legislation which deals with all negative aspects of these contracts not just some of them."
Strike action is due to take place across all the main centres, starting from noon in Auckland, Palmerston North and Wellington, 5pm in Dunedin and 6pm in Christchurch.
The union is also running a petition letter to McDonald's on its website, asking the company to end zero hour contracts.
