TENS of thousands of current and former employees of McDonald’s in New Zealand will receive back pay after the burger giant agreed a deal with the country’s Unite trade union.
About 9,000 current staff and 40-60,000 ex-staff will be eligible for a minimum of $500 (£250) per year, the company acknowledges, and it estimates the average payout will be closer to $1,000 (£500), meaning the overall bill will be somewhere between $45-90 million (£22.5-45m). The deal commits the firm to pay arrears back to November 1 2009.
McDonald’s is not the only New Zealand firm owing its employees money for failing to comply with the Holidays Act, and Unite is fighting similar battles with Burger King and a security firm called Armourguard.
Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO reports from the start of Kunming’s Belt and Road media forum, where 200 journalists from 71 countries celebrated a new openness and optimism, forged by China’s enormous contribution to global development
Morning Star editor BEN CHACKO reports on TUC Congress discussions on how to confront the far right and rebuild the left’s appeal to workers
