Tougher labor law to protect migrants

Employers who delay paying migrant workers their wages in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province will have to cough up a late payment fee amounting to 25 percent of the compensation owing, according to a new provincial regulation.

The new regulation was passed by the provincial government on August 13 and aims to protect migrant workers, a vulnerable group mainly composed of people from impoverished areas who have moved to prosperous cities for work but often find social injustice.

According to the regulation, companies are required to sign labor contracts with their migrant worker employees and register them at the local human resources and social security bureau.

They are also required to pay social security benefits on behalf of the workers.

"A lot of the provisions in this regulation already exist at the State level. Unfortunately, they are often poorly followed, as many argue the clauses are sometimes obscure," said Sun Rong, a lawyer from a non-profit legal service center for migrant workers in Shaanxi.

Sun said the provincial regulation details employer's responsibilities, the punishment they can face and is likely to help migrant workers win their case in local courts.

"In most cases, migrant workers who sue their employers have not signed a labor contract, which is the major reason they were deprived of their rights," said Sun.

The new regulation and China's Labor Law both stress that companies must sign labor contracts with their employees but Sun said many employers at construction sites and factories do not provide contracts.

"With the economy going down, many workers aren't willing to push for a contract. They're willing to take the risk just to get a job," added Sun

Wang Na, a migrant worker from Shaanxi who was injured on the job, forced to quit and denied back pay, was in tears when she told the Global Times no government department was able to help her fight the company.

Wang said her employer, a food processing factory, demanded she sign a "blank contract" that didn't specify working hours and wage. The employer never provided health insurance nor made social security payments.

After the legal service center helped take her dispute to court, the company countersued.

Wang, 34, is a single mother and has few financial resources to get into a protracted legal fight over a few thousand yuan, but she wants to prove the regulations work

"I'm fighting because I want my son to see that justice can be found in this country."