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SCMP Reporter

Fast food giants accused for breaching labour law

Labour authorities in Guangdong province are investigating allegations by local media that western fast food giants like KFC,  McDonald's and Pizza Hut have failed to comply with labour rules when hiring local staff.

The Guangzhou-based New Express Daily said that its reporters, after several months of investigation, had found that the three restaurant chains were paying part-time workers in several Guangdong cities much less than the local minimum wage.

The report also accused the restaurants of demanding part-time employees work the hours of full-time staff but failing to pay them any full-time staff benefits.

The report said its reporters, disguised as job applicants, found that  McDonald's paid part-time employees 5.3 yuan per hour in Guangzhou, 5.1 yuan in Dongguan  and 'more than five yuan' in Shenzhen.

The report also said that Pizza Hut in Guangzhou offered 5.8 yuan per hour to part-time workers while KFC paid 5.5 yuan.

According to Guangdong's minimum wage laws, employers must pay part-time staff no less than 7.5 yuan per hour in big cities such as Guangzhou, 6.6 yuan in medium-sized cities such as Dongguan and Zhuhai  and 5.8 yuan in small cities.

The report also quoted several employees  who said that they had to work much longer than the maximum working hours set by law.

A university student working part-time in a  McDonald's outlet in Guangzhou was quoted as saying she had worked as long as 10 hours a day and that a lunch break was not  included.

'We had to keep running around all the time and had no opportunity to stop,' she complained to the newspaper. 'We felt we were  seriously exploited.'

According to the mainland's labour laws, employees who work more than five hours a day and 30 hours a week should be treated as full-time staff and employers must pay them all relevant benefits.

But the report said the restaurants did not pay any benefits to the workers because they were recruited for part-time work.

The report also mentioned that Guangzhou's KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants offered unfair terms in their working agreements and retained copies of the agreements that should have been given to employees.

Both  McDonald's and Yum, owner of KFC and Pizza Hut in China, did not reply yesterday when  asked  about the report.

It is also unknown whether the three restaurants chains have similar  wage policies in other provinces.

Guangdong Department of Labour and Social Security spokesman Zhang Xiang  said his department had launched an investigation. 'We are collecting evidence now,' said Mr Zhang. 'The restaurants will be punished according to state labour laws and regulations if the report is accurate.'



KFC, Pizza Hut and McDonald's under fire