Over 2000 employees of Restaurant Brands — the company that operates KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr., and Starbucks in New Zealand — held strikes and picketed workplaces on April 22, after Unite Union rejected a collective agreement offer put forward by Restaurant Brands as “unacceptable.”
Unite Union proposed an annual wage increase of $0.10 an hour for three years for Restaurant Brands’ lowest paid workers, which would take their wage to $0.30 above the minimum wage by 2019.
This was declined by Restaurant Brands, who offered one $0.10 increase over three years.
The strike action was also aimed at shift supervisors’ pay (which is currently below the living wage), provisions for redundancy pay, overtime allowances, and pay equity.
Last week, Restaurants Brands announced a profit of $26 million dollars after tax, a $2 million increase from the year prior.
Mike Treen, Unite Union’s national director, said that it was “appalling” that the large profit made by Restaurant Brands was not seen by employees. “There is a real anger out there.”
“The chief executive needs to take the matter in hand and sort it… because the people he’s put in charge have created this dispute.”