Fast-food giants KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut have been accused of underpaying and overworking their part-time staff in their Chinese outlets.

But it wasn't until a south China newspaper ran a feature report that the government and trade unions in China began to take the issue seriously.

This raises questions about the way in which trade unions, companies and government departments carry out their duties. Companies have a moral and legal duty to abide by local laws and regulations and meet minimum wage standards. And trade unions and governments are supposed to protect workers' rights.

It is no surprise to see fast-food companies caught up in this type of dispute. Low wages and McDonald's go hand in hand the world over. Low-paid, unqualified jobs in the fast-food industry are referred to in English as "McJobs". The term means an "unstimulating, low-paid job with few prospects", a job from which workers -- if they can -- move on quickly.

The practices of the fast-food companies in China help to explain why. But companies, powerful multinationals just like the rest, have to abide by local laws and regulations and meet minimum wage standards.

Cui Huanming, a marketing manager with the Guangdong branch of Yum! Restaurants China, which owns KFC and Pizza Hut, took a different view. He said their employees were not subject to China's minimum wage law because they are neither full-time staff nor part-time staff. If they are neither part-time nor full-time employees, what exactly are they?

Long, a public affairs manager at the Shanghai head office of Yum! Restaurants China who refused to give her full name, told Xinhua in a phone interview Wednesday that the company would not comment until the results of an investigation headed by the Guangdong Provincial Labor and Social Security Department are available.

By press time, the U.S. head office of Yum! Restaurants had not responded to questions Xinhua posted online.

Li Shouzhen, a senior official with the All China Federation of Trade Unions, recognized Tuesday that trade unions have a responsibility to educate employees about their rights and defend them in case of conflicts. But he pointed out that China has laws that protect employees' rights and that multinationals have a legal obligation to abide by the laws of the country in which they operate.

Li said that the US fast-food chains KFC, McDonald's and Pizza Hut have violated China's Labor Law and that his union will take action to protect workers' interests.

He also said the trade unions will work with local labor and social security departments to provide legal aid for workers involved.

Labor disputes in foreign companies in China are on the rise. According to labor activist Zhang Guoxiang, irregular employment practices, low wages, unreasonable workloads, failure to respect social security programs and a lack of work safety measures are major grounds for complaint.

Trade unions and labor and social security departments, which for many years shied away from public conflicts, are beginning to make their voices heard and have begun to fight for the workers. And the media are taking an interest.

Companies must respect the spirit of the law and not simply the letter of the law.

Whatever happens in the "fast-food case", labour relations in China over the next ten years are likely to be more colorful than in the past.

Source: Xinhua