Media in China’s Guangdong province have accused McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut of underpaying their employees. The minimum wage in China is set at 7.5 yuans an hour, but the three fast food chains are allegedly only paying their employees 4 or 5 yuans an hour.
In their defence, McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut claimed that they employ students part time. However, to avoid any negative reaction by consumers, an executive from Yum! Brands Inc., which includes the Pizza Hut and KFC banners in China, announced that KFC would accept the conclusions of the investigation and fully cooperate with the Chinese authorities.
The three fast food chains currently employ 200,000 people in their 3,000 Chinese outlets.