A McDonald's franchisee who operated a fast-food restaurant in South Australia has been fined $275,000 for threatening to demote employees and reduce their hours if they joined the union.
The former franchisee, who ran McDonald's Murray Bridge, admitted in a statement as part of a Federal Court settlement that senior managers engaged in an unlawful campaign to de-unionise the workforce over a five-year period.
The employer admitted that workers were threatened with being demoted and having their hours reduced if they remained members of the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA), the union which represents fast-food workers.
The former franchisee also admitted that senior managers "falsely and unlawfully" told employees they could not be promoted if they were a member of the union — an action that breached the Fair Work Act 2009.
The SDA brought the case against the former franchisee on behalf of current and former workers at the fast-food restaurant.
The settlement was reached days before a trial was scheduled to begin in the Federal Court.
The SDA said the settlement with the former Murray Bridge franchisee was "the tip of the iceberg", and it was the first time in the world a former franchisee had admitted to trying to de-unionise their workforce.
"This landmark settlement sees this McDonald's franchisee pay hundreds of thousands of dollars for their illegal, anti-union conduct and for pressuring workers to give up their permanent employment and go casual," SDA South Australian secretary Josh Peak said.
"McDonald's Murray Bridge workers were bullied, intimidated and threatened because they stood up for themselves and their co-workers."
"It's a disgrace that McDonald's — one of the biggest and richest global corporations — has stores where management actively campaigns to deny workers the basic, democratic right to the protection of union membership.
"This attack on vulnerable, young workers, cannot be tolerated."
The allegations were made against the franchisee who operated the Murray Bridge restaurant, not McDonald's Australia.
A McDonald's Australia spokesperson confirmed the franchisee no longer operated restaurants for the fast-food chain, having left its system in 2021.
"McDonald's Australia does not accept or condone 'anti-union' conduct within our business or franchisee-owned restaurants," the spokesperson said.
"We have clear policies in place to ensure franchisees, managers and employees comply with the Fair Work Act, including freedom of association and right of entry requirements."
"The SDA has not raised any allegations with McDonald's Australia Limited regarding 'anti-union' conduct in our restaurants."
Former workers 'pressured' and 'bullied'
Heather Hammond, who worked at McDonald's Murray Bridge, had her hours cut even after she cancelled her membership.
"I witnessed a McDonald's manager tell a worker that if she did not resign her SDA membership, she would be demoted," she said.
"I was pressured into resigning my union membership. They made me frightened I would lose my position as a supervisor.
"Then, after I gave in to the pressure to give up my SDA membership, my hours were slashed because I raised a workplace safety concern."
Former worker Iesha Taurima also felt pressured by management to resign from the SDA when she was promoted to manager.
"When I became a manager, managers made it very clear the business owner didn't like workers being in the union," she said.
"A few months after I became a manager I was approached again. They said I was the only manager who's in the union.
"Senior management at McDonald's Murray Bridge bullied me the whole time I worked there, including for being a union member.
"I was definitely not 'loving it'."
Most of the $275,000 settlement, which includes fines and legal costs, will be paid to workers who were subjected to the attacks, the union said.
The union is also investigating further legal action against other McDonald's stores that are alleged to have engaged in similar conduct.
