McDonald's silent on claim of union branches in south China restaurants
5/4/2007 15:53
A senior south China trade union official has said fast food giant
McDonald's has promised to set up union branches in Guangdong province outlets
before July, but the company today refused to confirm the claim and would not
comment. Kong Xianghong, vice chairman of the Guangdong Trade Unions
Federation, said his federation was confident McDonald's would establish union
branches in first half of this year. However, he would not comment about
union branches in KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants, both operated by Yum! Brands
Inc., which were last week accused with McDonald's of overworking and
underpaying their part-time staff. Kong said that a preparation group
including representatives of employees and management had already been
established. Both sides had agreed on issues such as union fee
payments. "Helping overseas-funded enterprises set up trade unions is
beneficial to building harmonious labor relations," said Kong, adding his
federation had a duty to encourage all overseas-funded enterprises set up trade
unions. A spokesman for McDonald's in Guangdong today said he could not
comment on Kong's claim and would not confirm that the company was establishing
union branches. However, a statement from McDonald's (China) late on
Wednesday said the company had always strictly abided by all national and local
laws and regulations. It went on to say the company was "deeply surprised"
that the All-China Federation of Trade Unions (ACFTU) had alleged that some
international fast-food companies had violated the labor laws of Guangzhou
city. It said the ACFTU had been "imprudent" in making such allegations. A
spokesman for Yum! Brands in Guangzhou today said he could not comment on the
possibility of establishing union branches in its KFC and Pizza Hut
restaurants. Since last week, McDonald's, KFC and Pizza Hut have been
criticized for paying their part-time Chinese employees just four yuan (52 US
cents) per hour, up to 40 percent less than Guangzhou's statutory minimum wage
of 7.5 yuan (97 US cents). McDonald's and KFC have almost 3,000 outlets in
China and employ almost 200,000 people. The ACFTU succeeded in establishing
union branches in Wal-Mart last year. About 26 percent of China's 150,000
overseas-invested companies, excluding McDonald's and Yum! Brands, have set up
trade unions, with a total membership of 4.29 million.
Xinhua
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