Rotorua fast food workers go on strike

About 20 Rotorua fast food workers took to the streets outside KFC on Amohau St as part of nationwide strike action against their employer Restaurant Brands.

Half of Restaurant Brands New Zealand's 4000-strong workforce walked off the job on Saturday after negotiations for a new collective agreement broke down.

About 2000 Unite Union members picketed selected KFC stores in Rotorua, Auckland, Palmerston North, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin at lunch time on Saturday in an effort to twist the company's arm over disputed pay and conditions.

Restaurant Brands operates New Zealand's KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl's Jr and Starbucks Coffee franchises and its chief executive Russel Creedy said the company was disappointed staff went on strike.

"Of the major employers in the fast food sector, Restaurant Brands already leads the sector for fixed hours of work and security of pay," the company said.

Unite national director Mike Treen told the Herald his members had not held a strike at Restaurant Brands since 2006, and the company had previously set the benchmark in the fast-food sector, being the first to sign a collective agreement, ditch youth rates, reward staff loyalty with a stepped pay hike, and moved to a fixed-shift system after the zero hours change.

"In the past, they have been the first to move in a positive direction."

He said Unite's push for an annual wage increase of 10 cents an hour for three years for Restaurant Brands' lowest paid workers, taking their wage to 30 cents above the minimum wage by 2019, was one of the issues leading to the strike.

"It's silly of Restaurant Brands to pick a fight with us over these issues because they're actually hugely profitable at the moment."

Other sticking points included lifting shift supervisors' pay to a living wage, provisions for redundancy pay, overtime allowances, ensuring existing staff get offered new or changed shifts when they came up, break times, and health and safety representatives.

On Thursday, Restaurant brands reported a 7.8 per cent increase in annual profit to $26 million this year.

Mr Creedy said Restaurant Brands was the first in the fast food sector to scrap zero hour contracts to guarantee minimum hours for staff and to proactively negotiate permanent days and hours of work for all staff.

"The overall package of terms and conditions of our employees is better than our competitors in the sector and includes a faster pathway for new employees to increase their pay rates.

"We are an important first job opportunity for many of our employees, so it's disappointing that the union has rejected our offer to pay entry level positions above the adult minimum wage, from day one."