Restaurant Brands agrees to guarantee hours and fixed shifts

Monday 10 October 2016 06:16 PM

Restaurant Brands agrees to guarantee hours and fixed shifts in union deal

By Edwin Mitson

Oct. 10 (BusinessDesk) - Restaurant Brands NZ, the NZX-listed operator of franchises including KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr, and Starbucks, has agreed a deal with the Unite Union in which workers' hours and shifts will be guaranteed on a permanent basis.

The new collective agreement moves from a formula in which hours were guaranteed at 80 percent of those worked in the previous three months, to one in which all hours were guaranteed and shifts would be fixed.

Unite national secretary Gerard Hehir said it was a major change in in the industry: "For the first time in decades, workers in the fast food industry in New Zealand will have their shifts fixed permanently. No longer will their pay vary from week to week."

The union says it plans to challenge the employment practices of Restuarant Brands' rivals, McDonalds and Burger King in the courts.

Shares in Restaurant Brands fell 0.2 percent, or 1 cent, to $5.70. They've risen 29 percent since the start of the year.

(BusinessDesk)

ends

© Scoop Media