Video: Super Profits - Shitty Wages - The Gombeens Have Got To Go!
Éirígi For A New Republic have produced a special run of posters to highlight the rank hypocrisy of Supermacs boss Pat McDonagh calling for a cut to the Covid unemployment payment while he himself is worth an estimated €120,000,000.
The “Superprofits - Shitty Pay” posters in the video below were erected by Éirígí activists in Galway City, the home to Supermacs head office.
McDonagh grabbed headlines recently when he complained that the Covid-19 unemployment payment of €350 a week was akin to ‘winning the lotto’ for low paid workers.
Of course, McDonagh knows all about shitty low pay, because that’s exactly what he’s been paying the vast majority of his employees since 1978. And getting filthy rich in the process.
The most recently published accounts for Supermacs show that it produced total profits of over €60,000,000 in the years 2016, 2017 and 2018.
McDonagh fully understands that his ability to generate such profits is completely dependent on him keeping his wage bill as low as possible. Any increase in wages for the thousands of people who work in his restaurants will eat into his own personal wealth.
When faced with the reality of a new government payment that rivaled the wages that he pays, McDonagh instinctively lashed out, calling for the payment to be cut to force workers to accept his shitty wages.
It’s safe to assume that McDonagh didn’t even consider the possibility of him increasing the wages that he pays to a level that was significantly above the Covid-19 payment.
Of course, McDonagh is not alone in his approach. The entire fast food sector is defined by extremely low wages, insecure hours, anti-social shifts, part-time work and generally poor working conditions. All of the chains operate on a similar business model to Supermacs, where super profits are generated by exploiting workers who are paid shitty wages.
Éirígí For A New Republic wants to see the fast food sector radically reformed to ensure that workers are provided with a living wage and decent conditions of employment. The Gombeen Capitalists have had it all their own way for long enough. If the likes of Pat McDonagh and his ilk aren’t willing to pay their workers a decent wage, they’ll just have to go.
If you’re ready to join us in the fight for workers rights and a New Republic you can do so here.
