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.