KFC unionised workers win 9% pay rise, training agreement

The Barbados Workers’ Union (BWU) on Friday declared victory in a long-running campaign for higher wages and improved benefits for KFC Barbados unionised workers, which it said has set a precedent in the fast food industry.

The BWU’s Deputy Director of Industrial Relations Kamisha Benjamin announced a range of benefits, including a nine per cent pay increase that approximately 300 workers will receive in their next pay packet.

At a meeting at the union’s Solidarity House headquarters, Benjamin told the unionised workers that while the journey to secure these gains had been protracted, she was pleased that workers could now improve their standard of living.

The union has been negotiating for the benefits since 2022 and launched a viral social media campaign highlighting the challenges workers face in the fast food industry.

Benjamin said: “When we came into the room and we asked you what you were expecting everybody said ‘more money’. So, in respect of that, it has been agreed that there will be a nine per cent increase in wages. The rates will be amended from your next pay package (February 16) . . . there’s some back pay due to you for this year . . . there will be some money that is going to be paid to you for the period that has already passed, and that will be paid no later than May 31, 2025,” she said, adding that “The agreement was to commence in 2022 that gives you an idea of how long we’ve been fighting.”

She continued: “Essentially your pay package will be a lot more because now you’re guaranteed more hours and now if you were a cashier and you were getting 967 before, it will be nine per cent of the cook’s rate, which would be $15.09.

“So you should see massive improvement, which means a better quality of life, right, decent work, which is what we’ve been fighting for. Present today are most of your delegates and they can attest to how rigorous the fight has been at the table on your behalf. It has not been easy.

“The guaranteed hours of work if you were not on the list was 27. We have agreed that everybody will get 40 hours and that is guaranteed. By extension that means that there’s no more list; everybody, as long as you pass your training and probationary period, you will be full-time.”

Benjamin highlighted that workers previously had to undergo 1 820 hours of training, which equated to over a year based on the previous guaranteed hours. Training will now be for 30 days, which will be part of the three-month probationary period.

“In respect of the training period, it will not be at the minimum wage as it was before,” she told the workers. “It will now be at the rate of the general worker. As soon as you complete the training period, and you are put into whatever role you will be doing in KFC, then you will start to receive the rate for that role. And that brings me to the next point, which is, if it’s a cashier role, for example, you are going to be restored to what used to be the cashier rate, which is the same rate as the cook.”

In a pre-recorded statement, BWU General Secretary Toni Moore said this was a major win for the workers.

Her deputy, Dwaine Paul, said that this “victory” also had implications for the wider fast-food industry.

“We have some other issues in terms of working conditions so this is not the end of it for KFC. The union has got to this stage and we are going to continue to press on to address all the other issues that exist. We do not intend to stop until the environment at KFC is fully conducive to you, the workers who make that franchise what it is,” he said.

“We do not intend to stop until the environment at KFC is fully conducive to you, the workers who make that franchise what it is. And this also extends and it also sends a signal to the other workers that are in the fast food sector because this is part of our recipe for success campaign that we committed to in terms of seeking better for all of those workers who are in this industry and toiling every day in some very challenging conditions.”

KFC Shop Steward Philip Durant expressed thanks on behalf of himself and his colleagues: “We have come out winners and we are very thankful that we have gotten somewhere in decent work for all workers in Barbados, [specifically] the [fast-food] restaurant industry.”

sheriabrathwaite@barbadostoday.bb