An article on China Daily website on March 28th reports part-timers' payment issue of American fast-food giants McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) in China.(See "McDonald's, KFC under fire for labor rights violations")

Until 2007-04-03 14:38, 48 comments have been left for this issue, some of which are listed in the following table. And we are looking to your opinion over the issue.

Restaurants' Fault

Not Only Restaurants' Fault

Li Guoqing 2007-03-28 20:54 Nothing could be more despicable and shameful for McDonald's and KFC. They are fleecing workers and violating labour's rights. Provincial government must immediately bring the guilty to book. Stricter government inspection system must be enforced to protect the workers. bottom line 2007-03-28 23:57 My opinion is that these large companies are too focused on their bottom line. Cutting their expenses gives the executives greater pay on their stock options, while breaking the backs of its people. Focusing on the bottom line will take you to the bottom, in my humble opinion. Poor pay leads to poor customer services, more accidents, greater disatisfaction, absenteeism, and turnover. I think this tactic is shameful. nathan 2007-03-29 21:39 It is known that Mcdonalds and KFC and other fast food restaurants pay the lowest wage they possibly can to get their employees. I think it's kind of funny that the article finishes by saying that these two restaurants have not yet set up unions. It is also known that they also take every possible measure (legal, and sometimes illegal) to prevent their employees from forming or joining unions. I wouldn't go waiting for them to take action to improve the lot of their workers. It will either have to pushed on them by enforcement of regulations or radical employee actions. Given the way of things here, I think it would have to come from government willingness to enforce the laws that they make. Observer 2007-04-03 04:09 Not breaking any laws by clssifying workers as part time is just a cheap trick. I am drankly amazed that people patronise kentucky and MasDonald as their products are relatively expensive by local chinese standards and also extremely full of heart clogging saturated fats leading to premature deaths, Protect your children from junk food like these.

Problem 2007-03-28 18:35 This is a problem throughout China and not just with companies such as McDonald's and KFC. Chinese companies and international companies (that have Chinese managers, too) all are guilty. First, labor is already cheap because of the huge population. Unemployment and underemployment figures are sky high. If an employee complains about unfair wage and hour practices, the boss will just fire the complaining employee on the spot without even paying the employee wages due. There are 100 people already lined up outside begging for a job. A few years ago the law was changed that said that employees don't need to provide their ID card to the employer. It used to be standard practice that the employer would keep the employee's ID card. The employee was basically held hostage. The employee couldn't leave or complain because the boss had their ID. This is no longer required, unfortunately employers still do this. Employees don't know the law changed, or are afraid of not being hired if they don't surrender their ID. Until the government starts to strictly enforce the laws currently on the books, nothing will change. This encludes cracking down on PSB thugs who take bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye to these offenses. czshan 2007-03-28 22:32 the deepest reason is china has much population.if you complain that the pay is very low,the boss will tell you that you can go to other places ,there are a lot of people waiting want to do the job. today finding a job is not very easy,you donot have many chioces,you have to face the reality. raise5times 2007-03-29 04:35 The government must set up minimun wage laws and enforce them. The hourly wage paid now is obcenely low. Raise it to five times of this paltry amount is the least McDonalds can do. Even with this five fold raise, Chinese workers just earn $2.50 per hour which is less than 30% what their counterparts in US earn. Chip 2007-03-29 10:33 It's economics people. If wages were too low, people wouldn't work for them. But they do, so that PROVES the wages are reasonable. Sure, they could raise the wages, but why should they? The workers are still working, still willing to show up on time, and it keeps costs lower. Were they to raise wages, they would have to FIRE more workers (that's what happens when you raise wages, this is empirical fact), and the price of burgers would go up. Then people wouldn't buy them, then McDonald's would once again FIRE more workers because of a reduced demand, and you'd be back in the same boat, just with less people working. yiba 2007-03-29 19:14 In countries providing social security net, people won't go to work if the paid can't cover transport fares and social life expenditure. But in developing countries where no social security net , they have to work for a bowl of rice no matter how low the paid how far they have to walk to the work place. problemmaker 2007-03-30 12:48 China should set up a corporate social report system to mornitor different companies performance and influence their works and their development tactics, especially audit and standardize their environemtal protection, economic and social works. Every kinds of workers in China will be treated equally in their companies based on current labour law or revamped laws. The violated companies will be punished regardless of foreign-owned, state or private owned companies. With respect to harsh work condition, poor salary payment, contagious overwork time( some state-owned companies still enforce 6 days work in a week, some JV companies oblige worker to be a workaholic person working over 12 hours in a day), worker's health and safety problem, etc and etc, China has a plenty of problems regarding that that need to be seiously considered and reviewed by policymakers and policy implementing systems. memyselfand i 2007-04-03 03:25 Low wages is low wages. It doesn't matter if you are working for an American company or a Chinese one. I've done blue-collar stints in many companies and I know how it is. It's good that the media here is getting stories like this out there. It's sad to see people defending companies like McDonalds outright.

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