McDonald's part-timers protest in Sinchon

/ Yonhap

By Lee Ji-hye

A union of part-time workers took to the streets of western Seoul on Saturday, condemning McDonald’s for paying no less than minimum wage to its employees.

Alba Yeondae, a union for part-time workers, marched from Sogang University in Sinchon to several McDonald’s branches in the area, demanding a raise in pay for part-time workers.

“Part-timers are human too, so raise our hourly pay,” a union member shouted inside a McDonald’s near Sinchon Station. “Treat us fairly -- not only financially, but mentally, too.”

The union posted stickers on the restaurant’s windows that stated, “We are human too,” and “McDonald’s, the best place to exploit part-time workers.”

In a statement, the union said that the global fast food chain has been intentionally hiring part-timers to pay workers no more than minimum wage, on a contract for a maximum of one year.

“The managerial-level positions are the only workers that are officially employed, who make us even more uncomfortable when working,” the union said in a statement.

“We only get 5,580 per hour ― which is impossible to make a living out of,” it said.

In response, McDonalds was quoted as saying that the Ministry of Employment and Labor had conducted “site supervision” numerously, but had found no problems that violated the law, according to Yonhap News Agency.

This comes after Lee Ga-hyun, 22, a fired part-time worker, was let go after she was found to be a member of the union.

Lee was quoted as saying, “I was fired last September for joining the union, but they said later that I was insincere about my working times,” adding that the company’s had been inconsistent about their explanation.

McDonald’s said Lee’s claims were false.

“What the union is saying is a complete distortion, because McDonald’s clearly abides by the labor laws,” the company said.