The acting store manager at the KFC on Amohau St in Rotorua said the entire day shift staff planned to walk off the job from 2pm today.
A spokesman from the KFC in Gate Pa said staff did not have to give notice to walk off the job this afternoon.
He said he knew that none of his day shift team were planning to strike, but he was unsure if the night shift team would turn up for their shift.
Unite National Secretary and Lead Negotiator Gerard Hehir said he predicted that Carl's Jnr and KFC restaurants in the Bay of Plenty and nationwide would be heavily affected, especially over their busy weekend lunch periods.
"Rosters are so thin already and the stores will likely need to severly reduce their service."
He said there were delegates on the bargaining team from the Bay of Plenty, so it was likely that stores in the region would be affected.
For the first time salaried assistant and store managers - half of whom belong to the union - were standing alongside their waged colleagues to take action.
