Together with my co-workers in the McStrike we are fighting for a new deal from McDonald’s.

I initially joined McDonald’s simply because I needed the money. Over the course of the last year I have found myself experiencing the trap that so many low-waged workers find themselves in.
Being paid £8.31 an hour means that myself and many of my colleagues are in a near constant state of poverty.  We struggle to make ends meet on a regular basis. If I wasn’t living with my parents I could not afford to live.

£15 an hour would enable me to begin to save some money and with that build a better life for myself. I work 40 hours a week — that should be enough to be able to live independently from my parents.

One of the few aspects of security I have at work is a guaranteed hours contract. I owe that to the determination of the McDonald’s workers who went on strike last year. 

But it isn’t enough. Most of my colleagues are on zero-hour contracts. They are forced to live week-to-week with constant uncertainty over their schedule.

At my McDonald’s we are working under a management culture of fear and intimidation. Superior staff members abuse their power in ways ranging from bullying to straight-up sexual harassment.

I have seen managers say “I’ll kill you” for things like not restocking quickly enough. They’ve then brushed it off as “banter.”

It is a culture where it is almost impossible to take time off when sick and get any type of reasonable sick pay. An environment where colleagues have had panic attacks; full-body anxiety episodes in the middle of the kitchen and resigned on the spot.

This cannot go on.

I am joining the McStrike because I believe that a higher wage gives us a chance at actually building a life, rather than just existing or surviving.

Coming together with my fellow colleagues is the only way that we can make sure our voices are heard. In a workplace where managers don’t show us basic respect, we need to come together to ensure we’re treated like humans.

By coming together we’ve already won changes to the management culture. It isn’t enough. This why we need a new deal for McDonald’s workers.  Every McDonald’s worker deservers a wage they can live on, guaranteed hours and a union to make our voices heard.

McDonalds made $2.8 billion in the first six months of this year, it can afford to pay us a living wage. It can afford to pay all ages of staff, from 16 upwards, the same rate of pay. Why is it that those who happen to be slightly younger are getting paid significantly less, when we all do the same work?

My fellow workers and I are learning that when we come together, we have the power to win what we deserve.

McDonald’s business model minimises costs and maximises profits. This results in routine understaffing and being offered little-to-no training. Burns and injuries are very common.

The culture of bullying and abuse amongst management is unacceptable.

McDonald’s workers in America have won billions of dollars of pay rises. By fighting and striking they have made $15 an hour the standard. 

We need to do the same here. It is only by unionising and organising together that we will be able to win a new deal for McDonald’s workers.

The conditions that McDonald’s workers face: poverty wages, insecure hours, a culture of abuse and disrespect cannot be allowed to go on.

Every worker deserves wages they can live on, security of hours and the respect that comes from having a recognised union.

My fellow workers and I are ready to stand up and say this can not go on. This will not go on.  We are ready to fight for it. It will not be easy but we know that by coming together we have the power to make change. We have the power to win a new deal for McDonald’s workers. When we win, it will be a victory for all workers.
 

This article is based on the speech Daniel Nkwocha-Dyer delivered to the New Deal for Workers fringe meeting at TUC earlier this month.