Public asked for support against Maccas

There will be action at the markets in Kaitaia tomorrow from 9am, near Kaitaia's McDonald's restaurant. Photo / John Stone

Would you like flyers with that?

Customers at McDonald's restaurants and drive-thru's in Northland will be asked to suppress their Big Mac cravings today and tomorrow, as part of national picket action against the company's offer around zero-hours contracts.

Members of the public are being encouraged to join protesters outside Whangarei's Bank St restaurant at 12pm and 5pm today, and at Kaikohe McDonald's from 12pm.

There will also be action at the markets in Kaitaia tomorrow from 9am, near Kaitaia's McDonald's restaurant.

Picketers, including some striking Unite workers, will be handing flyers to customers and asking them to eat elsewhere, to send a message to McDonald's that the community disapproves of its most recent offer on what has been termed zero-hours contracts.

The practice allowed companies to require staff to be available for work, but did not require the employer to provide actual hours of work, and allowed managers to cancel shifts at short notice.

Zero-hours contracts have been canned completely by Burger King, and Restaurant Brands (which owns KFC, Pizza Hutt, Starbucks and Carl's Jnr) is trialling offering staff fixed shifts instead.

McDonald's offer on Tuesday was for 80 per cent security of hours for workers up to a 32-hour cap, based on an average of the previous 12 weeks' worked hours.

Unite Union's Northland organiser Gary Cranston said while that would give workers more secure hours, it was not an end to zero-hours contracts, as they could still be forced to work erratic shifts.

"They need to not be afraid that their lives are going to be turned upside down by working huge hours one day, and nothing the next."

Unite Union national director Mike Treen said the union wanted to also continue bargaining around a few other claims, including a special payment for members to allow the terms of the collective agreement to be passed on to non-members of the union as well.