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Penalty Rate Win For 100,000 McDonald's Workers (Read 389 times)
whiteknight
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Penalty Rate Win For 100,000 McDonald's Workers
May 11th, 2019 at 6:37am
 
Huge wage boost and penalty rate win for 100,000 McDonald's workers   Smiley

May 10, 2019
WA Today

Burger giant McDonald's will soon start paying out tens of millions of dollars in higher wages to its employees after it finally agreed to pay weekend penalty rates to its young workforce.

Maccas, one of Australia’s biggest employers, also faces a claim for back pay that, if successful, could be worth more than $200 million to its predominantly young and low-paid employees.


McDonald's worker Xzavier Kelly is leading a case to get more than $200m back pay from McDonald's for lost penalty rates.

The multinational has been paying a majority of its workers less than the fast food award - the wages safety net - under a controversial deal it struck with the socially conservative shop assistants’ union in 2013.

Since then it has avoided paying Saturday and Sunday penalty rates in return for a small increase in the ordinary hourly rate. Young workers are currently paid as little as $8.64 an hour at McDonald’s, even if they work on Saturdays and Sundays.


An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald in 2016 found that the workplace agreement with the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association (SDA) paid some workers one-third less than the award and saved McDonald’s tens of millions of dollars in wages a year.

The deal was approved by the Fair Work Commission at the time, despite a legal requirement it only endorse agreements that ensure workers are paid above the minimum wage.

The investigation found similar underpayment across fast food and retail, including at Woolworths, KFC and Hungry Jacks, under deals struck between employers and the SDA.

In 2016, the full bench of the Fair Work Commission found that a deal involving Coles failed the "better off overall test" - the legal test that says workers must be paid more than the award.


Since then major employers including Woolworths, Domino’s and Coles have started to pay workers legal minimum penalty rates in a significant boost to their pay.

Now McDonald’s - the second largest private sector employer in Australia with about 105,000 workers - is set to be legally required to do the same.

McDonald’s is expected to brief its staff in the coming weeks over the new pay offer.

A McDonald's spokeswoman said it has been negotiating a "strong" new agreement that includes weekend penalty rates and additional allowances. The company's priority was now to see this agreement "in place".

But the process is being challenged by a second union, the Retail and Fast Food Workers Union.


Xzavier Kelly has been underpaid as much as $2000 per year compared to the minimum rates of the award.

McDonald’s worker and retail union member, Xzavier Kelly, is seeking to terminate the McDonald’s agreement in the Fair Work Commission and return workers to the minimum standards of the award, saying they would be better off on award rates.

He is also seeking back pay for all McDonald’s workers not paid award penalty rates and other allowances for the two years since the old agreement expired.

The McDonald's spokeswoman said they were  "disappointed" by the back pay claim.

Mr Kelly, a 23-year-old university student, works casual shifts at a McDonald’s store in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs.

An analysis by his union found Mr Kelly was underpaid for every week he worked, sometimes by more than 10 per cent. It estimated he was underpaid as much as $2000 per year compared to the minimum rates of the award. He regularly works overnight shifts.

“I actually have no money in my bank account at the moment,’’ said Mr Kelly.


Joe de Bruyn, president of the SDA, presided over many of the controversial wage deals with big business.

“I find it a juggle to make ends meet. To know I could have an extra $2000 a year if I was just paid the award minimum, I could have used that.’’

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DonDeeHippy
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Re: Penalty Rate Win For 100,000 McDonald's Workers
Reply #1 - May 11th, 2019 at 6:58am
 
whiteknight wrote on May 11th, 2019 at 6:37am:
The McDonald's spokeswoman said they were  "disappointed" by the back pay claim.

Cheesy Grin Shocked Grin
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Dnarever
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Re: Penalty Rate Win For 100,000 McDonald's Workers
Reply #2 - May 11th, 2019 at 7:18am
 
DonDeeHippy wrote on May 11th, 2019 at 6:58am:
whiteknight wrote on May 11th, 2019 at 6:37am:
The McDonald's spokeswoman said they were  "disappointed" by the back pay claim.

Cheesy Grin Shocked Grin


They could have avoided it had they not been stealing from their employees ??
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Ajax
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Re: Penalty Rate Win For 100,000 McDonald's Workers
Reply #3 - May 11th, 2019 at 8:33am
 
This is what happens when you have a corporatocracy, good to see the workers win one.

Death to globalization and free trade..... Angry

Death to the G20 and any other G system.... Angry

Death to the United Nations in its entirety.... Angry

Death to anything that is controlled and manipulated by the oligarchy...!!

Time for governments to take back their nations.
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1. There has never been a more serious assault on our standard of living than Anthropogenic Global Warming..Ajax
2. "One hour of freedom is worth more than 40 years of slavery &  prison" Regas Feraeos
 
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