Workers assured of wages ahead of festival (2)

The women, both from Shanxi province, told police their employer would pay them only 600 yuan for 18 days' work, instead of the 2,000 yuan agreed upon.

They had gone to the labor supervision authority for help but were turned down because they did not sign contracts with the restaurant owner.

In Beijing, on Jan 14, about 140 migrant workers barged into a diplomatic residential compound on Chang'an Avenue to demand their salaries from a man who workers said hired them in Shandong province and had an office in the compound.

Almost 100 officers from the armed police division and public security bureau were dispatched.

Footage recorded by the Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, shows officers standing in front of the gates persuading the workers to leave and trying to pull up some of the petitioners who were on their knees.

The deadlock lasted nearly three hours and ended when migrant workers were taken away in two buses.

In Nanjing, Jiangsu province, more than 30 construction workers blocked a bustling shopping street on Jan 7, demanding that their employer to pay them. Police officers rushed to the scene and promised to help resolve the issue.

After negotiations, a company that hired the workers' employer said it will pay a proportion of the workers' wages.

Feng Xiliang, a labor expert at the Capital University of Economics and Business, told China Daily there are many reasons companies withhold payment.

The construction sector, for example, "is prone to salaries in arrears because many subcontract jobs to smaller firms, which causes payment problems," he said.

"In some other industries, the grim economic situation and a sharp drop in export contracts have resulted in them being financially strapped, leading to their inability to pay workers in a timely manner.

"Yet, these should not be excuses for defaulting on workers' salaries," he added.