McDonald's China, embroiled in a recent crisis after being
accused of under-paying its part-time staff, has vowed to set up
trade union branches across its 40 outlets in Zhejiang Province
this year, the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) said on
Monday.
An ACFTU spokesman attributed the statement to Zong Hao, central
region human resources director with McDonald's China, as he
visited the Zhejiang Federation of Trade Unions (ZFTU). McDonald's
China were unable to confirm the statement, but promised an
official comment later.
Chen Dingxin, ZFTU vice chairman, praised the move, saying it
would help rebuild the fast food giant's tarnished image, and
improve labor relations while allowing McDonald's to meet its
social obligations. He added that McDonald's China should press
ahead with such moves following national trade union
regulations.
Earlier this month, Kong Xianghong, vice chairman of the
Guangdong Trade Unions Federation, had already made a similar
province to set up trade union branches across Guangdong Province
by July, a claim which later went unconfirmed by McDonald's
China.
McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut were all indicted for under-paying
part-time employees in Guangzhou, allocating them just four yuan
(52 US cents) per hour, or 40 percent less than the city's
statutory minimum wage of 7.5 yuan.
The labor authority in Guangdong further confirmed that the same
restaurants had breached employment laws by failing to provide
labor contracts to their employees and for overworking them with
little or no remuneration.
China's trade union law, in line with international standards,
allows all workers whose major source of income is their salary to
form and take active part in trade unions.
Wal-Mart stands as an example of the inexorable march of trade
unions, since after first stone-walling and balking at creating a
trade union in its Chinese branches, launched its first one in
Shanghai in August last year.
Following this precedent, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's,
Pepsi and French bank BNP have all set up their own trade unions in
the country.
(Xinhua News Agency April 17, 2007)