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McDonald's workers speak out over abuse at fast food chain.
Details
McDonald's workers speak out over abuse at fast food chain.
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McDonald's workers speak out over abuse at fast food chain.
McDonald's is facing accusations of sexual harassment in both the UK and the US. Employees have reported incidents of harassment and inappropriate behavior by managers and colleagues. Many of the victims are young and on zero-hour contracts. Some have experienced racism as well. The company has apologized and claims to be investigating the allegations. However, workers have criticized the effectiveness of the training provided and the lack of action taken by management. Similar issues have been reported in the US, leading to protests and lawsuits against the company. McDonald's CEO has promised to address the issue and create a safe workplace. 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Join us as we embark on a journey of discovery, bridging the gaps in our knowledge and understanding, one episode at a time. Whether you're a curious mind or an avid learner, this is the place to fill the gaps in your mental library. So tune in, get comfortable, and let's uncover the mysteries that lie just beyond our reach. This is Fill the Gap, where curiosity meets insight. This is your host, Mike Fortune, coming to you live from Washington, D.C., with another experience interview, a McDonald's experience interview. Here we go! Stomachs, waist, bum, thighs as well, I'd say, and hips. Why should we have to go to work in things? Shelby started working at a McDonald's in Berkshire last year. She was 16. She says the workplace felt toxic. One senior manager was openly racist and mocked disabled employees. Other managers were sleeping with more junior members of staff. When I'd go through the kitchen, I'd have my arms, like, up, and I'd make myself as small as possible, just so that, like, hopefully they wouldn't come into my space. Something would happen every shift. I'd be, like, grabs, having my bum grabbed or hips grabbed. She says managers warned her to stay away from certain older men, including one man in his 50s. I was just speaking to one of my friends, and he just sort of grabbed me by my hips and then pulled me onto his groin area, and then he just, like, held me there. I felt disgusted. I was, like, because he was so much older as well. Shelby says she complained to the store's management, but nothing was done. She quit in May. McDonald's said it was deeply sorry to hear about what Shelby went through. It added that it was investigating why any issues she raised were not formally escalated at the time. McDonald's uses a franchise system. That means individual businesses are licensed to run the stores and directly employ the staff. I want to say that I'm shocked, you know, and this is something that surprises me, as the general secretary of a trade union that supports these workers, but I'm absolutely not, and it's disgusting that in 2023 this kind of behavior and culture is so prevalent. McDonald's has one of the youngest workforces in the UK. 75% of staff are under the age of 25. Teenagers are attracted to the flexible hours. They can fit the job around college or university. Chinyere, not her real name, is 17. She's been working at a McDonald's in Cheshire while studying for her A-levels. Last year, she says she was repeatedly sexually harassed by a much older male colleague. He offered to show me his penis in the freezer to prove to me it's not small. He started accusing me of being a lesbian because I wasn't attracted to him. She says she confided in a colleague who was responsible for staff well-being. She said that's how their culture acts, and I should, like, probably just, like, ignore it because at this point, what can I really do? And she told me, we can go back in. I was still crying at this point, and it was quite busy, so I just went back in for work. The man, who was from Eastern Europe, was then racially abusive. He was using the N-word to two boys in the kitchen and then sort of referring to me as the monkey N-word to other people in the kitchen and would not stop repeating it, even though they seemed completely uncomfortable with the situation. So I generally was just really shocked, and, like, I couldn't handle it at this point. Like, I had generally just broke. Why didn't you go to the store manager? Why didn't you go to the man in charge? I didn't think. I didn't believe. I feel like they would have seen him and thought it was an exaggeration. I didn't feel like at any moment I could be replaced. Shinieri's stepfather complained to McDonald's headquarters, the franchise in charge of the store and the police. After his intervention, the man was fired. McDonald's said Shinieri's experiences were abhorrent and unacceptable. It apologised unreservedly. It said swift action was taken. The man was dismissed within three days. In February, McDonald's signed a legal agreement with the equality watchdog, the EHRC, promising to do more to prevent sexual harassment, including providing online training. McDonald's workers have told the BBC that the training isn't being taken seriously. One employee described balancing an iPad next to a McFlurry machine and flicking through the online course while he did the drinks. Other workers have told us that they haven't been offered any training at all. Welcome back. McDonald's faces a new wave of accusations from women who claim they were sexually harassed on the job. Sexual harassment at McDonald's has become such a big issue in the US that women have been protesting outside restaurants across the country. Four years ago, the company's CEO was fired. He'd had inappropriate relationships with several female colleagues. And McDonald's is facing multi-million dollar lawsuits by employees. One case brought by workers in Michigan was settled out of court for $1.5 million. Emily was one of those women bringing the lawsuit. For me, why it's so distracting is because at the time I was 17, to me it's important to stand with the other women who were harassed and kind of stand up and say like, yes, this should happen and there should be consequences for that and it shouldn't be happening. So that's how I started talking to the lawyers and giving my experience. In the UK, staff are often on zero-hour contracts and shift managers set the rotors. Cara, not her real name, was 17 and on a zero-hour contract when she says her shift manager sent her sexually explicit images. I had a manager message me. It was probably within the first week of us messaging that he was sending me explicit pictures of his genitals. She says she was also assaulted by a senior manager. He was like, oh, come and work on the front, putting the food into the bag. And he just goes and grabs my throat with some force. And then he goes on to grab my bum as well. He was a big man and I was like, you need to let go of me. And he did and I was trying to breathe and sort of act as though everything was normal. Cara complained to the manager in charge of the store. She says that despite assurances, the man wasn't disciplined. She quit her job. There is a massive power imbalance there. These managers, McDonald's can't afford to lose them because they've been there such a long time. You know, people that are crew members, you are the sense for 100%. In a statement, Alastair McCrow, the CEO of McDonald's UK and Ireland, said they deeply apologise for the instances where they have fallen short. There is simply no place for harassment, abuse or discrimination of any kind at McDonald's. And we will investigate all allegations brought to us and all proven breaches of our code of conduct will be met with the most severe measures we can legally impose up to and including dismissal. Already over 2000 of our managers have completed full awareness training and nearly all of our restaurant teams are now working within these new protections aimed at creating a safe and respectful workplace. I think that they don't really think about their staff at all. They have little to no regard for our feelings and how we might feel in the workplace and how we are being treated. Yeah, because if they did, could they think if they did something about it? Alright, there you go. That's sexual abuse going on. It took a lot for them to get rid of them, but that's probably a culture that still exists. We've got all these different franchise owners. I think the corporate is more concerned with making their profits than what's going on individually in each operation. That's what we'll see. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us. I'm sure her story is one of us.