Migrant workers, who did not get their salaries, put out bowls and begged for money in Zhengzhou, Henan Province on May 9, 2010. Photo: IC

As the year's end approaches, more and more migrant workers gather to claim unpaid salaries from their bosses. In some cases however it can be extremely difficult, as bosses use bullying tactics to force workers to give up.

"It is a common problem in the construction industry, as companies usually pay migrant workers their salaries at the end of the year, and quite often delay payments to those without formal contracts," Zhang Zhiqiang, the founder of Migrant Workers' Friend, an organization that helps protect migrant workers' rights, told the Global Times.

Fists instead of cash

Zhang says he constantly receives pleas from migrant workers claiming their bosses refused to pay them. Among these, there is one that claims a construction company in Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, owes its workers more than 3 million yuan ($450,000).

"Some of the migrant workers have gone to Beijing to ask for help from the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, hoping it will provide a solution to their troubles," said Zhang.

In fact, it is quite common for construction companies to owe money to workers across the country. Sometimes, if workers protest them too much, they hire thugs to beat them.

A construction company in Wuxi, Jiangsu Province, hired gangs to beat its workers after they called several times for their salaries to be paid, leaving one badly injured, Zhang said.

Li Jianhua, a migrant worker in Beijing, encountered a similar tragedy, the Beijing-based China Youth Daily reported.

Since joining in the construction of the Adult Education Center in Fangshan district, Beijing, Li and his colleagues have not received their salaries, and the boss refused to pay them as they did not sign contracts with the company.

The boss was quoted as saying, "You want to sign a contract with me? You are daydreaming! If you insist on signing a contract you can leave!"

The migrant workers continued their work with the hope they would eventually be paid. Instead, the boss hired people to beat them every day in an attempt to drive them off. Finally, the workers called the police.

Instead of helping the workers, police persuaded them to leave the site, according to the China Youth Daily report.

According to research by Peking University into living conditions of migrant construction workers in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Chongqing, 40 percent of workers are owed wage arrears.