CANADIAN LABOUR- BRITISH COLUMBIA:

AN OLYMPIC SWEATSHOP"

The following, from the British Columbia Federation of Labour, exposes a dark underside to the rah-rah of the Olympics commercials that are beamed across the world during the course of the Games. McDonald's is the "official restaurant" of the Olympic Games. One can only imagine an athlete trying to go through training on Ronny's food, but still the endorsements will undoubtedly pour in after the Games. Money trumps truth. What is amazing is that McDonald's is able to dodge the minimum wage laws in the Province of BC while still promoting its Simon pure brand across the airwaves. Here's the story from the BC Fed.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

“Official Restaurant” of the Olympics pays lowest wages in the country:
B.C. Federation of Labour President, Jim Sinclair is calling on the "Official Restaurant" of the Olympics to stop paying new employees less than BC's minimum wage which is already the lowest in Canada.

"I talked to several McDonald's workers in the past few days who are making less than $7 an hour and they are not impressed with the company," Sinclair said. "These workers deserve a fair wage and respect. That's the real Olympic spirit."

British Columbia has the lowest minimum wage in Canada at $8 an hour. It has been frozen for eight years. However, McDonald's in the Lower Mainland use the so-called training wage to lower starting salaries to as little as $6.35 an hour. ( Love those loopholes- Molly )The Liberal government introduced the training wage by lowering the minimum wage by 25 percent for new workers and immigrants.

"For those watching the McDonald's commercials celebrating the spirit and values of the Olympics, it might come as a surprise that one of the largest global restaurant chains pays new employees the lowest wages in Canada," Sinclair said. "The company can't just pay lip service to the spirit of the Olympics."

"As part of our Olympic sponsorship we honour the hard work and exceptional performance of our restaurant crew...." said McDonald's Senior Vice-President of Global Marketing, Dean Barrett. Sinclair called on McDonald's to honour the hard work of all its employees by eliminating the low wages.

"This company can find hundreds of millions of dollars to sponsor and promote the Olympics but they pay less than the lowest minimum wage in Canada to new workers," Sinclair said.

Sinclair called on McDonald's to pay all starting employees a minimum of $10 an hour, the wage necessary for a single person working full-time to reach the poverty line.
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For more information: Evan Stewart, Director of Communications (604) 430-1421.