McDonalds yields to Chinese Unions Pressure

A year after Wal-Mart Stores unionized all its stores in China under pressure from the government, McDonald’s is cooperating with China’s large state-controlled union to allow the formation of more unions in its 750 outlets here.

A McDonald’s in Guangzhou

A McDonald’s spokesman said Monday that the company was working with union officials to help establish a union at its stores in southern Guangdong Province, one of the country’s wealthiest regions.

The announcement comes nearly two weeks after a state-controlled newspaper in Guangdong reported that some McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut restaurants in Guangdong were violating the law by paying employees less than minimum wage and denying some workers full-time benefits.

Officials at McDonald’s and at Yum Brands, which operates nearly 2,000 KFC and Pizza Hut outlets in China, say that they obey the law. But McDonald’s officials say they are now investigating the allegations. Read more

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