In response to over 1000 reports of sexual harassment identified by the IUF affiliate Bakers, Food and Allied Workers (BFAWU), the UK’s Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) initiated an investigation into McDonald’s failure to deal with sexual harassment. The investigation has resulted in the EHRC signing a legally binding agreement with McDonald’s. It commits McDonald’s to “communicating a zero tolerance approach to sexual harassment… conducting an anonymous survey of workers about workplace safety… enhancing policies and procedures to prevent sexual harassment and improve responses to complaints.”
- The agreement received widespread media coverage which included testimony from McDonald’s workers who had been subject to sexual harassment
- In 2020, the IUF and EFFAT-IUF joined with IUF affiliate SEIU in the USA and Canada and the Brazilian national trade union center UGT to file an OECD complaint against McDonald’s for its failure to deal with sexual harassment in their restaurants; though McDonald’s themselves refused mediation, major investors including the Norwegian Norges Bank and the Dutch APG engaged productively
- The IUF has arranged several actions over the year to pressure McDonald’s and other fast food companies to deal with the issue of sexual harassment in the sector, including a hearing in the European Parliament together with EFFAT/IUF-Europe, and an event in Geneva in 2022 to promote safe and healthy workplaces for fast food workers
- ILO convention 190 on the prevention of violence and harassment in the world of work, which will enter into force in the UK on March 7, 2023, calls on States to adopt laws and regulations that require employers to “identify hazards and assess the risks of violence and harassment, with the participation of workers and their representatives;” it remains to be seen how the EHRC will enforce this requirement as to date McDonald’s has refused to engage with trade unions on the issue
Christine, a survivor and former McDonald’s worker from the UK, stated, “McDonald’s needs to understand sexual harassment is not ok, this is a big problem. If you’re a survivor like me, and you’re working at McDonald’s, you need to speak out now. Think about those young women working there.”
