Chinese New Year: migrant workers kill themselves for not getting paid
Beijing (AsiaNews/SCMP) Tens of millions of migrant workers are the object of mad exploitation by Chinese industries, without having received even minimum compensation for months and years of work. Government intervention is not able to rectify the situation leading to desperation and suicide in addition to social conflict.
The problem becomes tragic as the Chinese New Year approaches. During this time workers living in cities return to their hometowns and families, perhaps with their hard earned savings. The money is for improving family life and paying debts. According to Chinese tradition, it is necessary to pay one's debts by the end of the year so as not to fall into shame. Yet almost ¾ of migrant workers do not get paid.
In recent months protests, violent disputes, and acts of desperation have disturbed Chinese public opinion and, like every year, injustice has been redirected at 72.5% of 100 million Chinese migrant workers , who according to Beijing Review estimates, are still waiting to be paid.
Ten days ago the Zhengzhou daily, the Dahe, reported the news of a Henan farmer, Li Zihao, who set himself on fire and was taken to the hospital in seriously wounded condition, since his payment requests for 6000 yuan were repeatedly ignored by his employer. According to the Yangzhao Metropolis Daily, last Wednesday in Hebei 5 persons died while some migrant workers tried to set fire to a clothes factory after the owner refused to pay them.
In December a group of 500 migrant workers from the province of Anhui appeared on the CCTV national television network, testifying of having won a trial with the help of a legal assistance center in Beijing, even if they hadn't received the 5 million yuan due to them. Often the employer, upon request for payment, had responded with acts of violence and intimidation.
In Shijiazhuang (Hebei, a few hundred kms from Beijing) three migrant workers were stabbed and beaten.
Hu Weiguo, a migrant worker from Hubei, died in Beijing after being thrown from a building.The builder for whom he and 80 others had worked, refused to pay the 200,000 yuan in salaries. Their lawyer, Zhao Daying, said that the migrant workers received threatening phone calls and that their employer never wanted to reach an agreement.
All this happens while the government tries to resolve the abuses with decrees. Weeks ago, for example, the government announced that it will revoke the licenses of those who have refused to pay migrant workers. Yet the abuses continue.
Friday Jan. 16 Vice Prime Minister, Zeng Peiyan, met with the Minster of Labor and Construction and gave instructions to resolve the situation, according to President Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Wen Jiabao's directives. Zeng Peiyan said that the problem of paying migrant workers must become an "absolute priority", so that they can return home for the New Year holiday period.
Despite the development of the Chinese economy, workers' rights, especially those migrant workers, are last on the list. Dr. Li Jianfei of the University Renmin (of the People) in Beijing estimates that 90% of migrant workers do not have contracts. According to a lawyer, Cheng Jianhong, who freely offers legal help to migrant workers in the capital, workers do not have a record of their work activities and do not even know how much their work will be compensated. According to official estimates, the debt for migrant workers in 2003 is around 12 billion euro. (MR)
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24/10/2019 17:56
