Following a series of petitions sent to the European Parliament signed by more than 31,000 people, the S&D Group has urged the Commission to crack down on multinational companies that use abusive zero-hour contracts. The petitions were linked to a campaign by McDonalds’ workers fighting for better working conditions and an end to precarious contracts.

S&D Group MEP Jude Kirton-Darling, who was responsible for the report in the Parliament’s petitions committee, said:

“Over the last few years we have seen a huge increase in the number of companies employing people on zero-hour contracts. Companies like McDonalds who make billions in profits and pay their CEOs tens of millions a year, have decided they need to save money by putting employees on contracts where no maternity leave, paid holiday or redundancy is given. If this type of abusive and irresponsible corporate behavior is not illegal, then it should be. We cannot allow multinational companies to get away with avoiding their most basic commitments to their employees.

“We stand side-by-side with all those fighting for their right to decent working conditions. We are pushing the European Commission finally do something about it and ensure that EU labour legislation is being implemented correctly. As these petitions have shown, people are fed up at being taken advantage of by their employers. We will continue to fight for the rights of all EU workers, but particularly those on the most precarious contracts.”