People's Daily hits out at delinquent employers

Delaying wage payments pours scorn on workers' rights and tramples on labor laws, said a commentary in Sunday's People's Daily.

The one thing that unifies China's 260 million migrant workers is their annual wish to go home for Spring Festival with their pockets full of hard-earned cash for unforgettable family reunions, and each year, many such wishes are dashed.

After a whole year of hard work, some migrants, usually low-paid manual laborers, find themselves empty-handed, and have to begin a laborious and unwelcome pursuit of the wages which are rightfully theirs.

The deaths of two people trying to claim their pay back has shocked many. In one case, a 13-year-old girl from southwestern Sichuan Province "fell" from a building when she was trying to help her father to claim unpaid wages.

In November, at least ten migrant workers threatened to jump from a building after failing to claim unpaid wages in Suzhou City in eastern Anhui Province.

"Why are there always some employers who shamelessly squander money on themselves, but try every means possible to avoid paying their workers?" the paper said.

The newspaper calls wage arrears tantamount to disrespect for both the workers and the law, and suggest labor contracts between employers and workers along with greatly enhanced supervision by local governments as solutions to the problem. Endit