After the “Golden Week” national holiday in China, many workers returned to their jobs only to find factories and businesses closed down. The Chinese economy continues to decline, leading to a large number of factory closures and shop bankruptcies.
The official “Golden Week” holiday arranged by the Chinese government was from October 1st to 7th. However, many factories arranged to extend the holiday until October 5th, with workers gradually returning to work around that time.
On social media platforms in mainland China, many workers posted videos complaining about returning to their workplaces to find chaos. Equipment was missing, workstations were gone, and all that remained was useless garbage. Both bosses and management personnel were nowhere to be found.
Some workers returning to work found their workplaces completely deserted, lamenting that “the sky has fallen.” Some netizens speculated that bosses took advantage of the holiday to sell off equipment and flee, avoiding compensation issues with workers and even skipping payment of the “several months’ back wages.”
A worker at a hardware and plastic factory in Xiaogan, Hubei Province, named Xiao Zhao (a pseudonym), told reporters on October 6th that the factory had moved out, and the boss had fled. “Yesterday (the 5th), when we went to ask for our wages, we were paid over 3,000 yuan (RMB), but still owed over 2,000 yuan. I don’t know the specific situation of the factory. I am just a temporary worker, and I heard that the headquarters’ finance department was in trouble, dragging things out every day.”
A worker at a shoe factory in Hanjiang, Putian, Fujian Province, named Dong Wei (a pseudonym), told reporters that on October 3rd, workers from the factory where he used to work attempted to jump off a building to demand their wages but were stopped. “The boss didn’t flee; he just said he had no money and asked us to wait.”
He mentioned that the small factory did not declare bankruptcy, with dozens of workers remaining. The boss had diverted the funds elsewhere, leading to the inability to pay wages. “I’m owed over two months’ salary.”
Dong Wei, who had previously resigned, noted that these small factories typically did not have long holidays, usually just a day off for festivals. However, within a single day, the boss discreetly moved out all the equipment, which was later discovered when the workers returned to the factory.
“In the evening, there were still people upstairs who hadn’t come down (having attempted suicide), with the fire department and police there. It seems the boss wanted to dodge responsibility, didn’t want to pay, owe too much, over 1 million in wages, plus suppliers.” Dong Wei stated.
He mentioned that many people went upstairs threatening to jump, frightening the boss. “I hesitated there and didn’t go up for a long time. Losing money can be earned back, but losing life means losing everything. The boss said he would pay at the end of the month, probably unable to. No matter what, I can’t do anything.”
A woman from Yongkang, Zhejiang Province, Mrs. Sun, told reporters that her parents worked at a thermos factory with over sixty employees, and they hadn’t received their wages for three months as the boss had fled. “During the holiday, my parents stayed at the factory gate, watching for a week, afraid someone would take away things from inside the factory. I don’t know how much money is owed.”
Another woman named Yang Li (a pseudonym) from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, shared with reporters an incident where a gym owner fled. “I had purchased an annual gym membership near my home, but on the evening of the ‘Golden Week,’ the boss ran away. Someone from the neighboring coffee shop saw it happen and called me. I rushed there and took a pair of dumbbells and a barbell.”