McDonald’s staff on strike today to demand more secure contracts – and pay of £10 an hour
Staff at branches of the chain in South East London and Cambridge are set to walk out in a move that is being backed by Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn
MCDONALD'S staff in Britain are set to go on strike for the first time in history today - but there's no need for fast food fans to panic.
Only workers at one restaurant in Crayford, South East London and another branch in Cambridge are set to walk out in a row over zero hour contracts and conditions.
The strike, being organised by Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU), is set to include about 40 workers who will picket the restaurants in the morning before heading to a rally in Westminster.
Britain's biggest food sector trade union are demanding a minimum wage of £10-an-hour and more secure hours.
The UK National Living Wage is currently at £7.50 for workers aged 25 and over, and £7.05 for those aged 21 to 24.
Jeremy Corbyn is backing the workers who overwhelmingly voted in favour of the action.
Ian Hodson, national president of the BFAWU said: "We, at the BFAWU, fully support the historic decision by these brave McDonald's workers to stand up and fight back against McDonald's – a company that has let them down one too many times.
"McDonald's has had countless opportunities to resolve grievances by offering workers a fair wage and acceptable working conditions.
"Instead, they have chosen to ignore their workers by tightening their purse strings – filling their CEO's pockets, at the expense of workers here in the UK and across the world."
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The action is linked to a national demonstration in London.
A spokesman for McDonald's said: "We can confirm that, following a ballot process, the BFAWU have indicated that a small number of our employees representing less that 0.01 per cent of our workforce are intending to strike in two of our restaurants.
"As per the terms of the ballot, the dispute is solely related to our internal grievance procedures.
"We are proud of our people at McDonald's, they are at the heart of all we do and we work hard to ensure that our teams are treated fairly.
"Our internal processes underpin that commitment."
They added the dispute is based on "internal grievance procedures" but did not concern pay or contracts.
McDonald's staff in America are leading a campaign to be paid £11.65 an hour, supported by the Service Employee's International Union.
McDonald's, which employs around 85,000 staff in the UK and one million worldwide, announced in April that workers would be offered a choice of flexible or fixed contracts with minimum guaranteed hours.
The move followed trials in 23 restaurants, which will be extended to 50 more sites before rolling out nationally across the year.
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