Two migrant workers in central China's Henan Province were stabbed to death by their employer Wednesday over a wage dispute, local authorities said Thursday.

The two men surnamed Yang and Zhu had asked for earnings on behalf of 17 fellow workers and argued with their labor contractor Wu Xianmin when told that their monthly payment had been docked by over 100 yuan (about US$14.6).

Wu then stabbed them in their necks with a fruit knife, according to Jia Haitao, a local police officer in Zhengzhou, capital of Henan.

The two died on the spot. Wu was detained by local police, who confessed fully to the offence.

The stabbings happened in the yard of the Putian Township government in Zhengzhou's eastern suburb, where the two workers, with others, had been working to repair the government building for more than 20 days.

"These migrant workers are soon to return home and have reunion with their families for the Spring Festival. I've never imagined things like this could happen," a local resident surnamed Li told Xinhua.

In China, millions of migrant workers from the countryside make their living in booming cities, and defaults on payments to migrant workers mainly occur in the construction industry.

The problem has affected the income of the rural population for a long time and is considered a "chronic illness" undermining social stability. The government and trade unions at all levels are making more and more efforts to help them recover their unpaid wages.

(Xinhua News Agency February 5, 2010)