Protesters campaigning about low wages and precarious employment took to the streets outside McDonald's restaurants in Falmouth and Truro on Monday.

Members of the Truro and Falmouth Constituency Labour Party set up picket lines in solidarity with striking workers at the fast food chains two stores in Cambridge and Crayford, London, who are taking a stand against poor pay and conditions.

The workers have said they are on strike to demand wages of at least £10 an hour and an end to zero hours contracts, which they say can be used by managers to bully staff, and union recognition.

Labour Party member Anna Gillett, one of the protest organisers, said: "We think that it's important to support workers in uniting, unionising, and saying that there needs to be an end to zero hours contracts and there should be a living wage of £10 per hour.

"There's a lot of people complaining that care workers don't get paid £10, and McDonald's workers aren't worth it, but we shouldn't be fighting amongst ourselves about who gets paid what, we should all be getting paid properly."

She said that it wasn't just a problem for McDonald's workers elsewhere in the country but for a lot of people working in Cornwall, especially due to the proliferation of seasonal and part-time work.

"People are working and trying to support their families, but they can't afford to do that because the company they rely on isn't treating them with due respect. Working conditions don't allow flexible working hours or for people to look after their children."

Asked how she could reconcile demands for more flexible working hours with more contracted hours, she added: "If a person has a contract for a certain amount of hours they should be able to work flexibly within that. Parents feel they get penalised for looking after their children, they can't look after their children because they have to work. Or they turn up for work and organise childcare, then don't get the work to pay for it."