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

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