GMB Young Members demonstration in Manchester April 2016
18 April 2016
On Thursday 14th April young GMB members held living wage demonstrations across major UK cities calling for a £10 an hour living wage and an end to zero-hours contracts, in order to make work pay for young people. The demonstrations, in solidarity with others by the Bakers’ Union and Fast Food Rights campaigners, supported the global day of action for higher pay, more hours and union rights at work in the fast food industry. 
 
GMB North West & Irish Young Members demonstrated in Manchester Piccadilly Gardens for the second time to put the pressure on big brands who systematically use zero-hours contracts and low-pay to keep costs down whilst making big profits. The main brand young members focused on this time was McDonalds. Most recent statistics report that McDonalds UK staff aged 21-24 are paid just above the minimum wage and 80% of staff are on zero-hours contracts. This comes as GMB and other trade unions in the EU have repeatedly called on McDonalds to come clean over avoiding €1 billion in corporate tax between 2009 and 2013.
 
Young members also continued their calls on big brands like M&S, Starbucks and Burger King to stop using Select Service Provider UK Ltd (SSP) to run their franchise outlets in UK railway stations, airports and large shopping centres. 9,300 staff across 2,000 SSP outlets have also been paid close to minimum wage, are mostly on zero-hours contracts and have been pressured to grovel to supervisors so they can get enough hours work to make ends meet, all whilst SSP makes an after-tax profit of £17 million.
 
After the demonstration, GMB North West & Irish Young Members Activist Ross Holden said:“Our demonstration in Manchester was a great success at shining a spotlight on the terrible working terms and conditions in some of the UK and the world’s biggest brands. Like our first demonstration in November 2015 we received great feedback with 300 leaflets handed out and many of the public hearing for the first time about these issues, with some asking how to join the GMB there and then. 
 
The scale of the impact made by our demonstrations and those by other unions and campaign groups became clear only day later, when after responding with a fierce defence of their zero-hours contracts, McDonalds announced they are now offering UK staff on zero-hours the option of moving to fixed-hours contracts. Evidently the devil is in the detail as new employees will still have to wait three months before being offered this opportunity and the fight is by no means over. Nonetheless this is a step in the right direction for McDonalds and a clear example of how young people and trade unions standing as one against in-work poverty makes a real difference.”
 
To find out more about the #£10NOW campaign please email gmbyoungmembers@gmail.com and keep up to date by following GMB North West & Irish 
 
Young Members on Facebook and on Twitter at @GMBYoungNWI.

GMB Young Members Manchester Demonstration April 2016