An announcement issued by Shanghai labor bureau yesterday saved McDonald's 
and KFC from a staff exploitation scandal, reported the Xinmin Evening News 
Monday.
 
 
   A KFC worker attends to a customer at a KFC outlet in Beijing 
 April 2, 2007. A KFC worker attends to a customer at a KFC outlet in 
 Beijing April 2, 2007. [Reuters]
   | 
The local labor bureau cleared the 
two fast food giants of any labor violation after a probe into their 37 outlets 
in Shanghai.
The two have long under heavy criticism for their hourly payments for 
part-timers, which are lower than the minimum hourly wage under the Labor Law. 
However, the probe shows that the payments made available to the duo's 
full-timers are higher than the minimum wage, while their part-timers 
are not subject to the wage floor, which is only applicable to the full-time 
employees.
According to the investigation, McDonald's part-timers were paid a minimum 
hourly wage of 5.8 yuan (73 cents), while KFC's part-timers earned at least 6.3 
yuan (82 cents) per hour.
The minimum wage in Shanghai is 750 yuan (US$97) a month, or the equivalent 
of 84 cents an hour.
Investigations in other cities are underway and no other result is 
available.