McDonald’s restaurants in Broken Hill, Victor Harbor and Aldinga added to worker class action
Hundreds of former McDonald’s workers from Victor Harbor to Broken Hill have joined a landmark class action claiming franchisees ripped them off.
SA News
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More than 370 current and former McDonald’s workers have joined a landmark class action lawsuit claiming they were denied thousands in dollars of pay by being underpaid by franchisees of the global fast food giant.
The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association, which represents retail and hospitality workers, has begun legal proceedings in the Federal Court against two further franchisees.
On Friday, the SDA confirmed they had lodged paperwork against Moosky Pty Ltd, which operates a McDonald’s restaurant in Broken Hill, on behalf of 18 current and former workers.
Additionally, paperwork was lodged against Maidston Australia Pty Ltd, which runs restaurants in Aldinga and Victor Harbor on behalf of 22 current and former workers.
The SDA alleges the franchisees deliberately denied employees paid rest and drink breaks.
The other class action lawsuits being run by the SDA against the operators of restaurants in Arndale, Croydon, Fulham Gardens, Port Adelaide, Harbour Town, West Lakes, Woodville and Murray Bridge have also been gaining participants.
The case has the potential to affect the more than 100,000 staff employed at more than 970 McDonald’s restaurants across Australia.
The SDA confirmed the total number of workers involved in lawsuits had reached 373.
SDA state secretary Josh Peak said the responsibility lay with McDonalds as the parent company and called on the global giant to hold its franchisees accountable.
“This is not a matter of a few rogue franchisees doing the wrong thing – it’s clear this issue is systemic and widespread across the nation,” he said.
“McDonald’s can’t keep shifting the blame onto individual franchisees and skirting responsibilities.”
“It’s shameful that one of the biggest employers of young Australians have deliberately been denying basic entitlements to thousands of workers.”
According to the enterprise agreement which covers all McDonalds workers, any employee who works longer than four hours is entitled to a ten minute paid drink break.
Any employee working longer than nine hours gets a second paid drink break included in their pay.
The union alleges that the denial of mandated breaks has been endemic in the way the franchisees run their businesses, with the breaks not being marked on rosters or encouraged by managers.
Some workers have claimed to have not been given the break during hundreds of individual shifts over several years of employment.
Former franchisee Delbridge Investments, which owned the Rundle Mall East, Trinity Gardens, Murray Bridge and Kings Park restaurants, is also the subject of a lawsuit.
The SDA alleges the staff had threatened workers against joining the SDA as well as other incidents of harassment.
A McDonald’s Australia spokesperson said: “We have yet to receive notification of the suggested filing with the Federal Court and unable to comment further at this time.”
The matters continue before the Federal Court.
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