Nine government organs, including the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) and the National Development and Reform Commission, ordered local authorities to ensure migrant workers would be paid in full before the upcoming New Year and Spring Festival holidays.
"Preventing and resolving wage violations should be the main task before the two festivals. Concrete measures should be taken to make sure migrant workers receive their backpay," Yin Weimin, minister of the MHRSS, said at a video conference.
"Payment-related labor disputes involving more than 10 people should be filed immediately and must be resolved within seven days. If the average salary overdue surpasses 1,000 yuan ($157) per worker, then a special supervision commission should step in," Yin said Monday.
In the meantime, local governments need to provide free legal services to migrant workers, and a fund has been set up to ensure that the money is present in case of emergencies.
Officials urged local governments to improve efficiency in mediating and arbitrating payment disputes, and vowed to severely crack down on criminal activities concerning wage violations.
Wang Fang, a lawyer at Beijing Zhicheng Migrant Worker Legal Aid and Research Center, told the Global Times that the end of year period sees most payment disputes arise as tens of millions of migrant workers prepare to return home to reunite with their families.
"There has been violence triggered by payment disputes, and many workers tend to band together to lodge their complaints so as to get attention from the public and authorities," Wang said, adding that wage violations are especially prominent in the construction industry.
The China Social Work Research Center, co-founded by Peking University and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, released a report Sunday on the working conditions of construction workers in Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing and Shenzhen, the China Business News reported.
The report said 90 percent of construction workers in the four cities are migrant workers. Only 28 percent of them are paid monthly, 22.5 percent of them are paid at the end of a project, while 40 percent of the workers are paid at the end of the year.
More than 41 percent of the workers had experienced backpay problems and nearly 76 percent of those surveyed had no contracts.
Migrant worker Li Xinfeng told students at a seminar held in Peking University on Sunday that he used to work at a construction site in Fangshan district, Beijing, but after 20 days, he and his co-workers had not received any money.
"We demanded to sign a contract with them, but they refused and only offered us up to 100 yuan per day. We rejected the offer, then in the following three days, they picked one worker a day and physically abused them. After that, nearly two-thirds of workers left the site without being paid," Li said, showing scars on his right arm from the abuse, the China Business News reported.
Last month, hundreds of migrant workers took to the street in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, chanting "we want our money back," the Southern Metropolis Daily reported.
In May, the Shenzhen Housing & Construction Bureau released a notice on safeguarding social harmony and stability during the Universiade, stating that until September 30, migrant workers would be prohibited from claiming their salaries through unconventional means such as gathering to petition as a group to higher authorities.
It said those who organized or took part in this kind of petition would be severely punished. The notice was revoked days later.
Shen Binti, a partner of United Zhongwen Law Firm, told the Global Times it usually takes 60 days for a labor dispute case to be resolved after the complaint is filed, with some cases lasting up to six months.
"Given the long duration for the settlement, it would be impossible for migrant workers to go home with their overdue payment," Shen said.
Wang echoed Shen's sentiment, adding that authorities should play a regular part in solving payment disputes, as most of these cases are simple and do not involve a large amount of money.
Shen noted that relevant authorities issue similar orders every year, but that these have been ineffective so far.
"Some labor or construction companies always evade their legal responsibilities by not signing contracts with the migrant workers. Only with contracts in their hands could the migrant workers protect their rights," Shen said.
Wang added that cases concerning payment disputes reduced after 2007 thanks to the Labor Contract Law, which took effect in the same year.
"In 2007, over 60 percent of cases we received were about payment disputes, but the number dropped to 20 percent last year," Wang said, adding that labor shortage and stronger awareness of legal rights among workers also contributed to the reduction.
