Corporate citizenship

Failure to pay part-time workers the minimum wage under local law can at best be interpreted as a mistake foreign fast-food giants have made by misreading China's relevant labor rules.

However, any further attempts to cover up or deny their underpaying employees would amount to a blunder these advocates of social responsibility would be foolish to commit.

Last week, a local newspaper in the southern city of Guangzhou reported that McDonald's pays part-timers only 4 yuan ($0.52) an hour, while KFC pays 4.7 yuan ($0.61) and Pizza Hut 5 yuan ($0.65). This pay is well below the local legal minimum wage of 7.5 yuan ($0.97) an hour.