From Chinese Press

Workers deserve proper pay

(China Daily)
Updated: 2010-05-13 08:18

That rural workers are paid on time should be the responsibility of government departments, says an article in Zhujiang Evening News. Excerpts:

Several rural workers in Zhengzhou, Henan province, were beaten by their employer and his musclemen when they asked for their wages, which were due for one and half years.

Since the workers cannot afford to pay the high medical charges they have started begging on the streets to get their seriously injured co-workers treated.

Local police have been indifferent to their pleas for justice. They said that since the incident took place on a weekend they would not be able to do anything till the next working day.

But a more serious question is: What were the local government departments, such as labor supervision or construction authorities, doing for one and half years during which the workers were not paid their wages? Aren't they supposed to help workers get their rightful wages? But none of these departments or their officials is likely to be punished. It's a shameful situation indeed.

(China Daily 05/13/2010 page9)