McDonald's welcomes more unions to Chinese stores

As more and more foreign companies look to tap into the red-hot Chinese markets, expect to see an ever increasing union presence. In the past, when most of the companies were state owned, the unions weren't really known for their ability to fight for the rights of workers. However, as the amount of foreign investments continues to flow in, it is logical that the unions will start to take a harder stance against companies to defend the rights of the employees.

The country's largest state-run union, the All China Federation of Trade Unions, has estimated that about 70% of the foreign companies operating in China will have unions in place by the end of this year.

Unions are a tricky subject. While some would argue that unions raise company expenses and can reduce a company's competitive edge, others would just as easily be argued that unions are a necessity to help ensure workers are treated respectfully and paid fairly. Both sides of the argument have plenty of ammunition to fire at the other side and people can definitely get worked up when discussing unions and their effect on the economy as a whole.

As for the situation in China, I think that getting unions more involved is probably a good thing. We all have heard about working conditions in China. Some companies work their employees hard and long and for very little money. The recent allegations against McDonald's accused the company of paying employees 52 cents an hour while the region's minimum wage was 95 cents per hour. Like them or hate them, if unions can stop that sort of employee treatment I am all for it.

Michael Fowlkes has worked as a stock trader for seven years and spent the last two years working as an analyst for the online investment advisory service Investor's Observer.