The Chinese capital reported 1,965 cases of migrant workers' wages being delayed in 2006, down 63 percent from the previous year.

According to an official with the Beijing Labor and Security Bureau, they claimed wages for 41,904 workers, totaling 94.18 million yuan.

Most of the cases occurred in the construction industry and 41 construction enterprises were fined 127,600 yuan for defaulting wages, said the official.

Factories and construction companies withholding workers' pay has been a persistent problem in China over the past ten years.

Default of wages has often resulted in violence and some unpaid workers have threatened to jump off high rises in protest.

(Xinhua News Agency February 19, 2007)