Happier Meals in China

McDonald's is polishing its damaged image in China, just in time for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

The fast food giant, which operates more than 800 outlets in China, announced today that it will pay its workers more and provide them with new uniforms in a style they picked out themselves.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Chinese burger-flippers will see an average of 30 percent more yuan in their paychecks. And their yellow-checked shirts will be replaced by blue, white, and brown striped polos.

The pay hike comes just a few months after China's leading labor union accused McDonald's and Yum Brands, which owns the Kentucky Fried Chicken and Pizza Hut brands, of paying part-time employees less than minimum wage. It said McDonald's was paying some part-time employees in the Southern province of Guangzhou about 40 percent below the local minimum wage.

While Chinese officials never formally charged McDonald's, the incident tarnished the golden arches in China. McDonald's chief executive in China said the Guangzhou incident "expedited" the wage hike announced today.

Beginning next month, full time employees in Guangzhou will get a 21 percent raise, to 1,072 yuan, or $142 per month. While that might sound paltry by U.S. standards, it's actually about 43 percent higher than the current minimum wage in Guangzhou.

McDonald's would get just about 24 hours, or three days' work, out of an American french fryer for the amount that it pays his Chinese counterpart for a full month.

Fortunately, the high school students trying to make an extra buck in suburban America by selling Quarter Pounders need not worry about losing their jobs to overseas labor. The federal minimum wage just went up for the first of three scheduled increases, but until McDonald's figures out how to sell Chongqing-cooked food in Chattanooga, their jobs will be safe.

As for the Chinese workers, they can be confident that, at $142 per month, they are bringing home far more bacon than their brethren at the nearby factories that are churning out all those Happy Meal toys.

by Megan Barnett