Korean Workers Protest for Higher Pay from McDonald’s
It seems that McDonald’s workers in South Korea are also motivated to get themselves replaced by machines:
The leader of protests against McDonald’s “culture of exploitation” of young part-time workers vowed Monday to continue fighting until the firm corrects its practices.
“If the company doesn’t respond to our demands, we will continue to raise our voice on the streets,” Lee Hae-jung, secretary general of the Arbeit Workers Union (AWU), told The Korea Times. “After our protest on Friday, we are waiting for a response from McDonald’s. Another protest will be held.”
A group of part-time workers occupied a McDonald’s outlet in Shinchon, near Yonsei University, Saturday, to demand “higher wages, fair working conditions and union activities within the company.”
“We have received many favorable reactions since then, especially from those who work at other fast-food restaurants,” Lee said. “Many showed empathy when we said it is unfair that most of employees at one of the world’s biggest companies eke out a living on minimum wage.” [Korea Times]
In response, McDonald’s said it did not break any laws in hiring and managing its employees.
“What the union is saying is a complete distortion. McDonald’s clearly abides by the Labor Law,” the company said.
In December, the U.S. National Labor Relations Board’s Office of the General Counsel also filed complaints against McDonald’s, accusing it of labor violations.
Complaints were filed in 78 cases, claiming that McDonald’s workers in the U.S. were fired or intimidated for participating in union organizing and in a national protest movement calling for higher wages.
Most McDonald’s workers in Korea earn a minimum hourly wage of 5,580 won ($5.10). Meanwhile, the company had a profit of $5.5 billion on sales of $27.5 billion in 2012.
The AWU wants a wage increase to 10,000 won an hour. [Korea Times]
You can read more at the link, but I have already seen some restaurants experimenting with touch screen ordering. How hard would it be for McDonald’s to put up touch screens for customers to order from and then a worker brings the food out to them?
Automate these idiots right out of a job…
What amazes me is how these obviously pro-Nork unionizers are still breathing perfectly good air… I would have thought there’d have been a house-cleaning long before now…
“Automate these idiots right out of a job…”
Many, many, many people are going to be rapidly automated out of a job in the next decade.
This has not sunk into the collective conscious for most of the developed world… and not even conceived of by those in the undeveloped world.
McDonald’s will likely collect those extra profits to the glee of Wall Street… for as long as they can… until falling sales volume forces them to pass those savings on to the customer… who eventually will not be able to afford Big Macs at any price if they have no job…
…though the government will attempt to ease this transition to a new economy through widespread handouts… based on debt…
…as neither Wall Street nor Washington think more than a quarter or two ahead, it seems.
Korea is probably the leading country right now in replacing factory workers with robots… with other industries coming soon. So this “have more babies” crap the government keeps babbling about needs to be put away… and other plans need to be made for taking care of the elderly based on increased national productivity.
…and all this is going to happen at an unimaginable speed… just as smartphones have changed the world in less than a decade.
Better have a plan for all this… or you will be little people.
With 5580 being the min wage and no lower waiter/waitress wage?, then its not bad for waiters/waitress restaurant workers who work at restaurants that cater to Americans near the bases. (I think most Americans still tip here)
Who tips at a McDonalds? 😕
The employees in the Itaewon store are great. I usually get a coffee on my morning walk up Namsan. Yes they deserve more pay but the franchisee still has to stay in business.
MTB Rider, My bad. I meant for other restaurants, like Outback Steakhouse, Bennigans, etc., but even the Korean Mom and Pop places I see Americans tipping all the time. Nobody tips Mcd workers inside the rest. of course, but I would tip the Mickey D’s delivery driver if they delivered to my area like Lotteria does.
Once again, the correct way to use the term “norK” is with a lowercase letters “n-o-r” and an upper case “K.” It is that way for a reason and it bugs the shiat out of me to see it misused.
“…restaurants that cater to Americans near the bases. ”
Such a small, inconsequential number as to be almost immeasurable (same goes for supposed hooman trafficking). I don’t know why it would even be mentioned.