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In the wake of five dismissals at a McDonald's fast-food outlet in Paris in October 2001, industrial action and stoppages have hit several of the chain's restaurants. Following court rulings in December 2001 and January 2002, three of the five dismissed workers were reinstated.
Several Paris restaurants and franchises of McDonald's, the US-based fast-food chain, have experienced industrial action since October 2001. The conflict originated at a franchised restaurant on Boulevard St Denis in Paris, where approximately 40 workers went on strike on 24 October 2001 (and are still on strike at the time of writing, mid-February 2002). They were protesting at the dismissal of five of their colleagues – accused by the restaurant's manager of stealing at least EUR 150,000. The striking workers contend that the real reason behind the dismissals was quite different. They say that the five workers had indicated that they intended to run as candidates in elections for workforce delegate s. Two days later, they were summoned by the manager and dismissed. A non suspect-specific theft suit was also filed.
Since then, strikers have been blockading other Paris McDonald's restaurants, with the support of ad-hoc fast-food sector union affiliated to the General Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail, CGT), workers in precarious jobs in other retail companies and around 20 associations, trade unions and left-wing and far-left political organisations - such as Agir ensemble contre le chômage! (AC!), Attac, the French Communist Party (Parti Communiste Français, PCF), the National Union of Students of France (Union Nationale des Etudiants de France, UNEF) and the Green Party (Verts). These demonstrations, which seek to extend the strike action to other McDonald's restaurants, have been organised on weekends and in restaurants located on busy or symbolic thoroughfares and avenues, such as the Champs-Elysées, rue de Rivoli or Hôtel de Ville.
The question of whether the dismissals resulted from theft or from discrimination against trade unionists is currently being tested in several legal cases. The industrial tribunal is looking into whether wrongful dismissals did take place, while the criminal court is ascertaining whether theft occurred.
Without pre-empting the outcome of the other ongoing legal proceedings, and in particular the alleged embezzlement case, three of the five Boulevard St Denis restaurant employees have been reinstated. In December 2001, the labour inspectorate rejected the dismissal of Armand Gandji, a former French Christian Workers' Confederation (Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens, CFTC) trade union delegate. On 24 January 2002, the industrial tribunal ordered the reinstatement of two further workers. The court ruled that 'the grounds for dismissal were fallacious and that they had been used to cover up the obvious intent to get rid at all costs of workers deemed to be too involved in making collective demands'. The manager nevertheless indicated that he intended to appeal against this ruling that he dubbed 'political'.
McDonald's has been operating in France since 1979 and today is the country's largest fast-food chain, with 860 restaurants in 2001. Of these, 86% (740 out of 860) are managed on a franchise basis by 240 independent companies. However, the majority of these small and medium-sized businesses are run by former McDonald's France managers. Over 50% of franchisees manage more than two restaurants. Franchisees are tenant-managers, who sign 20-year, renewable 'intuitu personae' contracts with McDonald's France. The remaining 100 or so McDonald's restaurants are directly managed by McDonald's France.
In the wake of the Bovine Spongiform Encephalitis (BSE) crisis (FR0109104F), the supply of meat to the fast-food sector has been shrouded in suspicion. McDonald's France has committed itself to a high-quality, safe food policy and strongly asserted its partnership with French agriculture. Following the spectacular dismantling of a McDonald's restaurant in Millau (Aveyron) in 2000 by José Bové and activists of the Small Farmers' Union (Confédération paysanne), McDonald's France decided to exhibit at the 2001 Salon de l'Agriculture agriculture fair.
McDonald's France also boasts that it is creating jobs. In 2000, the chain claims to have opened 70 restaurants (on a direct-management or franchise basis). In so doing, McDonald's France states that it has created 2,500 direct jobs, most of which have been developed in partnership with local state employment bodies, not only in major urban centres but also in medium-sized cities and so-called 'sensitive' suburbs.
In addition, McDonald's France is trying to show that it is improving working conditions in the fast-food sector, in which it is – either directly or indirectly via its franchise network – the largest employer in the country.
MacDonald's France is widely represented in the decision-making bodies of the National Fast-Food and Food Union (Syndicat national de l'alimentation et de la restauration rapide, SNARR) employers' organisation, and thereby takes part in the collective bargaining process. In addition to a 1988 basic collective agreement governing this relatively new industry, collective bargaining in this sector has resulted in several additional agreements between SNARR and the trade unions. These include:
Although genuine collective bargaining does take place at sector level, trade union activity is problematic in an industry characterised by high employee turnover and restrictive management, where part-time working is largely dominant. However, unionisation has developed, particularly among workers with several years of service, who are generally older and with low-level qualifications. Unionisation is also characterised by the diversity of trade unions represented. In addition to the five representative intersectoral union confederations, the National Federation of Independent Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes, UNSA) is very widely represented in Paris McDonald's fast-food outlets.
There are also recurring problems between local union branches or individual trade union delegates and the national trade unions to which they are affiliated. On several occasions, delegates or even whole local branches have switched their affiliation from one trade union to another. Armand Gandji. one of the five workers threatened with dismissal from the McDonald's outlet on Boulevard St Denis (and subsequently reinstated) was a CFTC union delegate, who was planning to run as a CGT candidate in upcoming workplace elections.
Trade union activity across McDonald's restaurants is also problematic since some outlets are directly managed by McDonald's France, while others are franchised to small and medium-sized companies. McDonald's France was quick to point out that the Boulevard St Denis restaurant was a franchise and consequently not managed by the company, even though the current manager is a former McDonald's France executive.
The drawn-out strike action by workers at the Boulevard St Denis McDonald's outlet in Paris, the supporting action organised by workers in other McDonald's restaurants and the grounds on which the reinstatement of three of the five dismissed workers was ordered, have significantly tarnished the image of the McDonald's group.
This type of conflict, which has involved unusual forms of action and has been constantly bitter, has served as a reminder to trade unions that, although there may be significant collective bargaining activity at sector or even company level, this does not automatically translate into significantly improved working or living conditions for unionised or non-unionised employees alike. (Maurice Braud, IRES)