McDonald's workers in America are on strike due to sexual harassment

McDonald's workers from over 12 cities in the United States walked out in an attempt to protest the way the company handles sexual harassment claims. This is not the first time that the workers have gone on strike for this reason, since 2018 they have organized 5 strikes for the same. 

States like Chicago, Detroit, Houston, and Miami among others saw their frontline workers such as cashiers and chefs walk out of the establishment on Tuesday in protest. Since 2016, workers have filed over 50 lawsuits and complaints alleging sexual harassment at franchises of the store with zero avails. According to campaigners, not only does the management ignore complaints of sexual harassment, employees who have complained also face backlashes such as pay cuts and their hours being reduced. McDonald's let out an official statement that "there is no place for sexual harassment at McDonald's" but the campaigners assure that this is the farthest from the truth. According to a 2020 survey conducted on almost 800 female employees who work at one of the McDonald's franchises or corporate-owned stores, three-quarters said that they were harassed at work and 71% said that they faced consequences for reporting the harassment. 

After reviewing the workplace safety guidelines, the fast-food chain said that it would require all its employees to undergo anti-harassment training, however, the workers believe that the announcement was vague and did not contain specifics such as what would happen to people who fail to adhere to these rules. McDonald's has said that it will conduct a complete investigation of all its stores, they want all their employees to feel safe at work and expect their franchise store to uphold the same standards. 

Source: BBC