Recently, a video of a woman in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, kneeling in front of a large state-owned enterprise and clinging to the legs of the company’s staff in an attempt to collect unpaid wages for her husband has sparked attention online. According to the woman, the company owes her husband a salary of 180,000 yuan, causing their family to struggle to make ends meet.
The video shows a woman prostrating herself in front of the China Chemical Engineering Construction 10th Bureau (referred to as “China Chemical 10th Bureau”), pleading tearfully while clinging to a man’s legs, “Please give us our wages… we can’t even afford to put food on the table at home… I have no money for medical treatment, both children are in school, and we have elderly to support.” “You promised us before.” “Please pay us our wages, it’s not easy for us common folks.”
A special police officer nearby also threatened the woman to release her grip. The man mentioned above said, “This can’t be resolved,” then broke free from the woman and walked into the company’s gate. The woman continued to kneel and cry loudly at the door of the company.
Information indicates that China Chemical Engineering Construction 10th Bureau is a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Chemical Engineering Group Co., Ltd. with a registered capital of 1 billion yuan. China Chemical Engineering Group Co., Ltd. is a large engineering construction enterprise group directly supervised by the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council.
According to Dafeng News, the woman, surnamed Fang, is 38 years old and lives in a rural area in Guanyun County, Lianyungang City, Jiangsu Province. According to Ms. Fang, her husband is an electrician who started working at this company a few years ago and is currently owed approximately 180,000 yuan in unpaid wages. They have approached the company several times to demand payment, but they were told that there is no money. Around 9 a.m. on November 19, the couple and two other workers came to the gate of “China Chemical 10th Bureau” again to demand their wages, but no one paid attention to them, prompting them to seek help from the police.
Ms. Fang said that shortly after, a man from the company came out, “I recognized him as the man who had previously helped us resolve issues. We asked him to pay the unpaid wages as agreed, but he said he couldn’t make the decision. When I saw him about to leave, I became emotional and rushed forward, clinging to his legs and sobbing loudly.”
A mediation agreement presented by Ms. Fang with the official seal of “China Chemical 10th Bureau Municipal Construction Engineering Company” stated, “After mutual consultation, our company undertakes to pay a total of 476,300 yuan in wages for the teams involved in the water and electricity, formwork, painting, tiling, and reinforcement works of the Longxing Resettlement Area Project in Sizhoutu, Guanyun County by October 31, 2024, through the form of peasants’ wages provided to the relevant personnel’s salary cards, with the wage details provided by the above-mentioned teams.”
Ms. Fang said the payment that was supposed to be made by October 31 has now been delayed for nearly 20 days without being fulfilled, leading them to come to the gate of “China Chemical 10th Bureau” to collect their wages.
In response to the situation, netizens have expressed their opinions, with comments such as, “The agreement has become useless, and promises have turned into jokes.” “To have to beg for your own wages in such a demeaning manner.” “There are just too many cases of wage arrears and debts.” “Wage arrears are even more serious this year.” “It wouldn’t be surprising if there were incidents that threaten public safety someday.” “In situations like this, only when the law is enforced will others take it seriously.”