Supermac's Boss Drops A Truth Bomb - "...The Work-Life Balance Needs To Be Changed...'
Pat McDonagh is at it again. The Supermac’s boss has been the focus of justified criticism and Éirígí activism before, but he remains determined to keep up his anti-worker attacks. The theme of these attacks have developed into something of a habit for transport and hospitality industry representatives.
In his most recent comments, McDonagh followed the well-beaten track of blaming his own recruitment problems on Irish workers who are in receipt of the Pandemic Unemployment Payment. The PUP, he claims, ‘has caused people to get a bit lazy’.
But in a follow up comment, and in a rare moment of honesty from a hospitality industry leader, McDonagh dropped the following truth-bomb,
“A lot of Irish have moved on from the catering business - maybe because of the uncertainty of it and maybe because of the unsociable hours. Also, people realise the work-life balance needs to be changed because they feel it was a rat race up until now and they want to spend more time with the kids and family."
The choice of the word ‘realise’ by McDonagh is very revealing. He could have used ‘think’ or ‘believe’ or ‘feel’ or another subjective word, but he didn’t.
By using the word ‘realise’, McDonagh is explicitly acknowledging the objective reality that the catering industry is not offering workers a healthy or sustainable work-life balance - a reality which many of his own former workers came to understand when the pandemic gave them the time and space to revaluate their lives.
The moral of this story is that many workers took the opportunity offered by the higher PUP social welfare payment to move out of highly-exploitative sectors such as hospitality. The higher rate gave workers with family and personal commitments more freedom to deal with those responsibilities and to seek employment that allows them to better meet those non-work commitments in the future.
The higher the rates of social welfare, the higher the salaries that employers must offer to attract staff - a fact which explains the regular attacks on the PUP by bosses and their representative bodies. The more effective the welfare safety net, the better the situation for those both in work and out of work alike.
In terms of the bigger picture, increased welfare rates will also reduce the level of inequality in society as a whole. While this is a laudable aim in and of itself, it has also been shown that the more equal a society, the much better are the outcomes for ALL citizens.
However, a more equal society will not come about through wishful thinking alone. Only a New Republic can deliver true equality to every aspect of Irish society. If you’d like to contribute to the building of a New Republic, then Éirígí is the place for you!