Burger King says worker strike ‘very disappointing’
Burger King workers are the latest to go on strike, joining a string of low-wage workers demanding their employment rights. One manager said Burger King staff members were worked ‘‘to the bone’’.
The fast-food chain’s union members went on a nationwide yesterday and planned to picket at Burger King’s Auckland West City Mall and Dominion Rd stores.
But Burger King’s marketing general manager James Woodbridge said the decision to strike was ‘‘very disappointing’’.
‘‘Burger King New Zealand has and continues to work constructively with Unite Union on collective bargaining negotiations.’’
West City Mall’s Burger King manager Chrissy Barnett said she had not been paid for overtime work on her salary. ‘‘They just work you to the bone until you lose it and have a mental breakdown. Our store has such a fast turnover so we get the s..... end of the stick.’’
Unite Union national secretary Gerard Hehir said its Burger King members were on some of the lowest pay rates among fast-food companies and were striking for better conditions and pay for overtime.
‘‘We were disgusted to find salaried managers, who supervise staff and manage stores on their own, sometimes working for less than the minimum wage. They are routinely expected to not take breaks and to work extra hours without pay or time off,’’ Hehir said.
‘‘When your hourly rate is just $16.88 – only 34 cents above the minimum wage – you only have to work around one hour unpaid a week to go below the minimum wage.’’
He said a case about a former salaried manager who was allegedly being paid below minimum wage was before the Employment Relations Authority, and the union had asked the Labour Inspectorate to investigate this and other minimum standards breaches.
The union has been asking for clock in/clock out time records for all salaried members but said Burger King had refused.
Hehir said salaried managers were often migrant workers and vulnerable to employment breaches. ‘‘Pay rates are only effective if you actually get paid for all your work. Burger King needs to wake up.’’
The union also raised concerns about health and safety but Burger King would not comment on any issues related to these concerns.