From Chinese Press

Rare example of employer honesty

(China Daily)
Updated: 2011-01-31 07:53

The most worrying thing for workers at the end of the lunar year is whether they will get their wage arrears before they return home for Spring Festival. Wang Zongshen, a factory owner in Neijiang, Sichuan province, has set an example for other employers by selling his apartment to pay the wages of his employees, says an article in Qianjiang Evening News. Excerpts:

The last days of a lunar year is probably the worst time for many migrant workers because this is the time when they are most worried about getting their rightful wages, which in most cases are for a whole year, before they return home to celebrate Spring Festival with their families.

This has become a common phenomenon, and it seems that we will have to live with this reality for some time to come. Every Spring Festival this problem grows in numbers, which has had a material as well as psychological impact on the public.But Wang Zongshen, a factory owner in Neijiang, Sichuan province, has set an example for other employers to follow. Wang is one of the few honest employers who are ready to suffer personal loss to pay their employees their rightful dues. Wang sold his house to ensure that migrant workers got their wages, which they desperately needed to take back home. This is indeed rare.

Wang is one of the few haves ready to see the world through the eyes of the have-nots. In a society that seems to have lost the basic virtue of honesty, people like Wang are called silly. But his "silliness" signifies keeping one's promise and honoring the fundamental promise of honesty. It has nothing to do with saving face but everything to do with the purity of heart.

The fact that an employer hits the headlines just because he pays employees their rightful dues in time highlights the existing state of affairs. It shows what companies need is a lesson in honesty and justice.  

(China Daily 01/31/2011 page9)