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New Year’s Eve is approaching and many migrant workers from various places who are owed a salary after a difficult year have once again embarked on the arduous path of seeking a salary. The journalist’s investigation found that in the construction field, where there are frequent cases of wage arrears of migrant workers, there is often a “strange phenomenon”, that is, during the construction of the project, the majority of migrant workers can receive their salaries without problems, but once the project comes to an end or is completed They want to receive the balance, but they will find various reasons for delay from the boss, which will eventually lead to a late payment case. Faced with this kind of “strange phenomenon of final pay,” how can migrant workers get the reward they deserve?
Cases of wage arrears of migrant workers are frequent
On December 31, 2020, with the help of the Nanchang City Labor Supervision Department, Jiangxi Province, 48-year-old Zhang Qiusheng finally got nearly a year’s salary owed. On the same day that Zhang Qiusheng received his salary, there were 11 workers who had worked with him on a construction site.
In June 2019, Zhang Qiusheng from Wutang Village, Shuibei City, Yushui District, Xinyu City, Jiangxi Province, and several coworkers came to a construction site in Nanchang County, Jiangxi Province to perform tiling work, and the work was finished in January 2020. But once the work was done, wages were not paid in full. “In 2019, the salary chief paid very quickly, but the last nearly 10,000 yuan has been delayed,” Zhang Qiusheng told reporters.
In recent years, the state has continually “stepped up” migrant workers compensation and wage management work and achieved initial results. However, the journalist’s investigation found that cases of wage arrears continued to be repeatedly prohibited and some cases were in poor condition. In September 2020, the Nanchang High-Tech Zone People’s Court ruled a case of “refusal to pay labor compensation”. The investigation found that the defendant Xie, as the legal representative of the labor services company, embezzled the labor fees received for other purposes after the completion of the construction of a real estate project, resulting in more than 4.86 million yuan of salary for 126 migrant workers in 10 construction teams. Outstanding.
The reporter checked and found that regardless of whether the amount of arrears was high or whether the arrears problem was serious or not, a “strange balance payment phenomenon” appeared behind the case. The “bosses” simply refuse to pay the wages owed, or just like squeezing the toothpaste, squeeze a little and give a little. In the construction field, it is rare that there is not a total default, but it is even more difficult to obtain the final payment.
On December 23, 2020, the Supreme People’s Prosecutor’s Office issued 6 typical cases of fiscal bodies sanctioning the non-payment of labor remuneration in accordance with the law, of which 3 were cases in the field of construction. In March 2018, Huang contracted a real estate project from Chongqing Construction Engineering Co., Ltd., and the project was completed at the end of August of that year. When the subcontractor paid Huang in full for the project, Huang only paid the migrant workers on a monthly basis. Living expenses, workers’ compensation owed to 18 migrant workers, including Yang, amounted to more than 250,000 yuan.
Some people in the industry said that “last payment weird” has been around for a long time in the construction field, and “drag if you can drag it” has been a habit of some people. Zhang Qiusheng said that in his part-time work experience, this has happened many times, and the last payment will always be delayed for months or even a year. “Sometimes we don’t know where the money is.”
The “limited” double factors lead to a “strange phenomenon of the final payment”
The reporter’s investigation found that the occurrence of the “strange balance payment phenomenon” basically includes two main reasons, internal and external, the external reason is “fight at the top and suffer at the bottom.” Having been in a weak position for a long time, with a low awareness of rights protection, most of the problems of wage arrears can only be tolerated.
Funding for construction is limited and early construction has become the norm. The journalist learned that as a contractor, construction companies have already become one of the most common development methods in construction projects. After some construction companies advance funds for construction, they will also credit various outsourcing companies and labor outsourcing companies, as employers who pay migrant workers’ wages, for the most part, choose to advance wages in advance. .
The “fairies” above were fighting, but the migrant workers below were suffering. Due to the layers of advances and credits, once problems occur between the developer and the contractor, and the contractor and the subcontracting company, delaying the payment of the project payment, migrant workers at the end of the relationship chain are become “victims”. In addition, we discovered in our work that most contractors and subcontractors are also involved in construction through loans and other means. After receiving the project funds, most of them first use the money for reimbursements or other projects, and the labor costs are placed later. “A law enforcement officer from the labor inspection department revealed that once funds are misused, it’s easy to bring hidden dangers to wages.
In addition, according to an industry expert, because the project funds are paid according to the progress of the project, to ensure the smooth progress of the project, the project funds and the wages of migrant workers during the process of construction is often paid on time. However, when the project is resolved or completed, several disputes often arise, resulting in the last payment of the project that includes the wages of migrant workers in a “no landing” situation for a long time.
The employment channels are limited and I don’t dare to inform the villagers about the arrears. “When you go out to work, relatives bring relatives and villagers bring other villagers. If you can’t receive the salary, you just have to be patient and wait,” said Yao Jingliang, a Hunan migrant worker who works in Jiangxi. The journalist learned from interviews that migrant workers often find work through other villagers or family members. This network of relationships has become an important resource for migrant workers to survive in the city. Many migrant workers said that as long as their acquaintances and fellow villagers can always drive them to work, it will be fine if the money is owed for a few years and the money is less.
Liu Guozhong, director of the Nanchang County Labor Inspection Bureau, Jiangxi Province, said that the legal awareness of migrant workers has increased and the labor outsourcing company will sign a collective contract before construction. If you do, you have developed a habit of not reporting to the department of labor even if your salary is behind for a few years. In the end, it is very easy to exceed the time limit for complaints and make it more difficult to recover wages.
Clarify the authority and responsibility of the department so that the policy is actually implemented
Interviewees said that wage arrears cases in the construction sector are characterized by large numbers of people and large numbers of wages. Affected by the epidemic, the downward pressure on the economy will increase and the risk of wage arrears will increase. It is recommended to clarify the powers and responsibilities of the relevant responsible departments. Form a joint force to strengthen the governance of the source in the construction industry, so that migrant workers are free from the problem of non-payment of the balance.
The journalist discovered that 16 departments, including the Ministry of Construction and the National Development and Reform Commission, jointly issued the “Opinions to continue solving the problem of delays in construction projects” in 2004, and the “Regulations to guarantee the payment of migrant workers ‘wages “was officially implemented on May 1, 2020., The state has issued a series of documents on the issue of migrant workers’ wages.
Li Qing, deputy director of the Nanchang Labor Supervision Bureau, said the key to managing the “persistent disease” of wage arrears is getting the policy actually implemented. It is recommended that on the basis of the existing joint governance mechanism, accountability responsibilities be further clarified, so that “who hires and manages, who controls Who is responsible”, effectively implement the responsibilities of industry authorities and strengthen the daily joint inspections of various departments.
An expert from the construction industry suggested that to reduce the “strange phenomenon” in cases of wage arrears of migrant workers, the relevant departments should further strengthen prior supervision, requiring construction units to manage and allocate accounts for migrant worker wages and other construction payments, and supervise businesses. The labor service fee is assigned separately to the special account for the wages of migrant workers. Once it is discovered that project funds and migrant workers’ wages are not separated, and monthly payment is not achieved, they must be investigated and understood immediately, and the problems encountered are seriously investigated and addressed to reduce risk. source wage arrears.
According to Hu Rong, a lawyer at the Beijing Jingshi (Taiyuan) Law Firm, according to the relevant regulations, the statute of limitations for arbitration for wage arrears is one year. If the statute of limitations is exceeded, as a worker, it is easy to lose the right to win the case even if it is recovered through legal channels. When migrant workers find that their wages are behind, they must report it to the labor supervision department immediately, and resolve them through legal channels in a timely manner. At the same time, judicial administrative departments and legal aid agencies should include migrant workers as key targets of legal aid and provide appropriate legal aid to migrant workers. (Reporter Wu Huiying）
【Correction error】
【Editor in charge: Liang Haiyan】
