McDonald’s: Sexual abuse at fast food chain ‘normal’, union chief warns
The boss of a union representing McDonald’s workers told members of the business and trade committee this morning that sexual harassment and abuse at the fast food chain was “normal”.
Ian Hodson, national president of the Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union, said that it was “common and normal” for employees to be touched inappropriately or mistreated.
Hodson said: “Whether it was the way they were spoken to or the way they were treated, there was acceptance that they were touched in the workplace, and the use of language.”
The Bakers, Food and Allied Workers Union represents around 2,500 employees at the popular eatery.
This morning, Hodson provided harrowing claims about the abuse suffered by staff at the chain.
One account described how a male manager at a McDonald’s branch would deliberately cut the shifts of female workers he found attractive in an attempt to lure them into performing sexual acts on him for money.
Hodson explained: “Over the next few weeks, they were starting to struggle because they weren’t getting enough hours and then he would take them to a hole in the wall [ATM] and offer them money from his own account for favours.”
It is one of the hundreds of testimonies given by former McDonald’s employees after a BBC investigation blew the lid on the harassment which was taking place.
The Big Mac maker has since sought to repair its image, signing back in February an agreement with the equity watchdog to better protect its staff.
This summer, the UK boss of McDonald’s Alistair Macrow, also appointed a new unit to crack down on sexual harassment and bullying after admitting the business has “fallen short“.
However, Hodson said that the feedback they are getting is that “nothing has changed”.
“There is a tick-box system that has been put in play, a video about how things are supposed to happen,” he said.
“We really welcome the involvement of EHRC (Equality and Human Rights Commission) but what was really lacking is the workers’ involvement in that process.”
Today, Macrow told MPs that he would do all that he could to stamp out bad behaviour at the franchises and denied claims made by the committee chair, Liam Byrne, that profits at McDonald’s were more important than people.
He said: “The testimonies that we’ve heard today clearly indicate that there are some restaurants where we are not achieving the standards that we wish to achieve and that’s what I’m determined to tackle.”
Since July, the firm has dismissed 18 people after they faced complaints and are still investigating 249 further cases.
Macrow added: “We typically would see between 20 and 25 contacts per week, of which one or two are sexual harassment, across the organisation.”