During the year-end season, it is also the peak period for Chinese migrant workers to demand their overdue wages. On January 17th, in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, several migrant workers gathered in front of a company in Qindu District to demand their wages, only to be violently suppressed by local police.
A video posted by the blogger “Yesterday,” who specializes in exposing human rights violations in China, shows that the police sprayed two migrant workers with pepper spray, forcefully took down their banner, and when the workers resisted, the police used stun guns, eventually arresting one of them.
According to the post shared by “Yesterday,” the company owed dozens of migrant workers a year’s worth of wages but refused to pay up. The migrant workers had no way to claim their wages, and the police, relying on the company’s connections, oppressed the common people.
The post criticized the Qindu District police in Xi’an for their arrogance, neglecting to protect the people’s property security, donning the police uniform to bully defenseless ordinary citizens, and protecting the interests of criminal forces under the guise of law enforcement.
The video sparked heated discussions online. Some netizens expressed anger, stating, “Migrant workers demanding their wages are treated with pepper spray and stun guns. The grassroots fight for their rights only results in violence. Is this the reality of ‘serving the people’?” and “To have human rights, one must hold power.”
In mainland China, cases of migrant workers demanding their overdue wages are not uncommon, especially during year-end periods. According to “Yesterday,” there have been several recent incidents.
On January 15th, over a hundred construction workers at Hengyi New Material Co., Ltd. in Qinzhou, Guangxi, went on strike collectively to demand payment for their withheld wages. The workers revealed that they had been owed wages since October of last year. After the strike, the company paid the wages for October but promised to pay the remaining amount on January 17th, with no updates available currently.
From January 13th to 15th, a large number of construction workers in Nanchang, Jiangxi, stayed at the Red Valley Beach District Urban Management Bureau for three consecutive days, demanding payment for their owed wages. According to the workers, the Red Valley Beach District Urban Management Bureau’s construction project owed over 200 workers a total of more than 5 million yuan. Despite multiple attempts at seeking justice, the workers have yet to receive their wages.
On January 6th, hundreds of workers in Qianxi County, Tangshan, Hebei Province, protested in front of the county government office, leading to clashes with the police. The workers revealed that Jinxin New Energy Co., Ltd. in Qianxi County had withheld their wages for as long as 7 months, and had not paid social security for 2 years. Due to the prolonged lack of income, they were facing severe economic difficulties, forcing them to take to the streets.
Additionally, a group of migrant workers recently gathered at the entrance of Xiangyu Mansion in Huli District, Xiamen, demanding their wages, only to be driven away by group personnel using high-pressure water guns.