Day 199 - 11 Dec 95 - Page 18
1
2 "This letter confirms that the matters detailed in the
3 March 1995 issue of Labour Notes magazine under the
4 headings 'Big Mac Puts the Bite On Staff' 'Same Product:
5 Same Problems' and 'Back to the Future' are a true and
6 accurate reflection of the situation affecting McDonald's
7 employment practices in New Zealand and its approach to
8 collective bargaining with trade unions.
9
10 As the author of those articles I have first-hand knowledge
11 of much of the contents gained through my employment as an
12 industrial organiser with the Service Workers Union of
13 Aotearoa" which is the name for New Zealand.
14
15 "New Zealand's present industrial relations legislation is
16 governed by the provisions of the Employment Contracts Act
17 1991. Prior to the passage of the Employment Contracts Act
18 in 1991 New Zealand's industrial relations laws effectively
19 served to bind McDonald's into a process of collective
20 negotiation. In the years immediately following the
21 passage of that legislation McDonald's demanded and won
22 significant concessions from its workforce with effect to
23 pay and conditions.
24
25 In January 1995 McDonald's advised the Service Workers
26 Union that it no longer wished to negotiate a collective
27 contract with its staff. McDonald's then proceeded to
28 bypass the union and offer individual employment contracts
29 to its staff. Staff were told that 'consultative
30 committees' would be formed and their views considered.
31 Despite their status as the legally authorised
32 representatives for staff, union organisers were told they
33 could not attend those meetings.
34
35 Our understanding is that these committees were often
36 ineffective and their views ignored. The committees now
37 appear to have been disbanded.
38
39 McDonald's new individual employment contracts have removed
40 or altered a number of key provisions previously existing
41 in the collective. These include significant changes to
42 the disciplinary provisions of the contract -- changes
43 which serve to further disadvantage employees by reducing
44 their time-frame within which they can challenge the
45 actions of their employer.
46
47 A minimal pay rise of 3 per cent in the new individual
48 contracts failed to keep pace with inflation, while
49 starting rates for some workers have effectively been
50 reduced with the removal of a 50 cents an hour allowance
51 paid to maintenance crew. The provisions of the collective
52 contract which guaranteed sick leave, bereavement leave and
53 domestic leave as of right have been replaced with
54 discretionary provisions controlled by the employer.
55
56 Monetary payments for shoe and stockings and the laundering
57 of uniforms have also been eliminated.
58
59 Of particular concern to the Service Workers Union is that
60 the new individual contracts contained no guaranteed
