Denmark McDonald's Workers Get Paid Vastly Higher Wages
Getty
In response to the protests, McDonald's, one of the largest fast food chains in the world, has warned that wage increases would force franchisees to raise menu prices.
But in Denmark, McDonald's employees, along with all other fast food workers, make twice as much as they do in the US, and the Big Mac costs just 80 cents more, according to the The New York Times.
Fast food workers make a minimum of $20 hourly in Denmark, while in the US, their average hourly wage is $8.90, according to the Times report.
Many economists say a direct comparison between the US and Denmark is unfair because Denmark has a much higher cost of living.
But "In interviews, Danish employees of McDonald's, Burger King and Starbucks said that even though Denmark had one of the world's highest costs of living - about 30% higher than in the United States - their $20 wage made life affordable," the Times' Liz Alderman and Steven Greenhouse write.
Thanks to unionization, workers in Denmark also get paid sick leave and overtime pay.
The Big Mac costs about $4.80 in the US and $5.60 in Denmark, according to the Times report.
There are also domestic fast food chains, such as In-N-Out Burger, that have managed to pay employees more than McDonald's while still selling food at cheap prices, Finnegan points out. In-N-Out's starting wages are $11 an hour.
Fast food companies' "traditional defense of miserable pay - that most of their employees are young, part time, just working for gas money, really - has grown threadbare," William Finnegan wrote in the New Yorker last month.
- A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.
- A centenarian who starts her day with gentle exercise and loves walks shares 5 longevity tips, including staying single
- 2 states where home prices are falling because there are too many houses and not enough buyers
- "To sit and talk in the box...!" Kohli's message to critics as RCB wrecks GT in IPL Match 45
- 7 Nutritious and flavourful tiffin ideas to pack for school
- India's e-commerce market set to skyrocket as the country's digital economy surges to USD 1 Trillion by 2030
- Top 5 places to visit near Rishikesh
- Indian economy remains in bright spot: Ministry of Finance
- JNK India IPO allotment date
- JioCinema New Plans
- Realme Narzo 70 Launched
- Apple Let Loose event
- Elon Musk Apology
- RIL cash flows
- Charlie Munger
- Feedbank IPO allotment
- Tata IPO allotment
- Most generous retirement plans
- Broadcom lays off
- Cibil Score vs Cibil Report
- Birla and Bajaj in top Richest
- Nestle Sept 2023 report
- India Equity Market