McDonald's: 'I'm fighting for Ł15 an hour now because I have to work from 7am to midnight'

Lindon, photo Paul Mattsson (Click to enlarge)

McDonald's striker Lindon, who will be walking out on 12 November spoke in the 'Ł15 an hour minimum wage - is this what we need to fight for?' session at Socialism 2019. Below are extracts from his speech about why he is fighting for Ł15 an hour

"I'm a father of three and we're going on strike on 12 November. Being a worker for McDonald's for the past seven years I know it doesn't treat people with respect.

Managers talk to you anyway they want to. The way McDonald's treats us is appalling.

In the run up to this strike I was talking to my colleagues about joining the campaign for Ł15 an hour and I was called in by my manager and told that I must not talk to anybody about the strike.

He said if I respect him then I should not talk to anybody about the strike. I told him it's going to benefit me, benefit my kids and everybody inside the store. If we get Ł15 an hour it's going to benefit him.

Fighting for Ł15 an hour means a lot to me. It would mean I don't have to do two jobs. Currently I'm full time at McDonald's and part time at Sainsbury's. I start at Sainsbury's at 7am and then at McDonald's at 3pm until 11 or 12 at night. I basically only sleep 3 hours in the week.

If we won Ł15 an hour then I would have enough time to spend with my kids, enough money to save up to go on holiday, and I would basically have enough money to look after myself and my family. We are in this to win this. We are fighting together to win Ł15 an hour and together we will win and be able to live a comfortable life."

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