Shanghai courts tackle wage withholders

Shanghai courts dealt with 3,693 civil cases that involved withholding wages in December, Shanghai People's Higher Court said on Thursday.

The cases involved a total value of 305 million yuan ($49 million), the court said.

Gu Weiqiang, deputy head of Shanghai People's Higher Court, said courts in Shanghai will strive to enforce the laws that give security to people's livelihoods in 2013, including building up networks to confirm the financial status of people against whom a judgment or order is being executed.

There were 105,500 cases concluded in Shanghai last year, a 7 percent year-on-year increase, according to Gu.

Yu Zhiqiang, head of the execution bureau of Shanghai People's Higher Court, said a credit rating system should be established to ban wage withholders from operating business until debts are settled.

Yu said Shanghai's courts will work with government departments and communities to gradually implement such a system.