Extortion schemes show sympathy for stricken workers

• Source: Global Times
• [22:10 June 17 2010]
• Comments

After seeing Tang's gang and the fake agreement, Liu immediately called the police. However, the police weren't biased toward him, but took it for granted that Tang and his villagers were the victims in this arrangement. Many other victims didn't go to the police at all. They just wanted to negotiate privately to get the farce over with.

This is exactly what Tang's gang took advantage of. People think that migrant workers only have physical strength. There are no labor unions for them, no insurance, no protection, and no channels for requiring better treatment. They are always silent.

Due to the fierce competition in most labor markets, they seem to be used to earn mean salary through exhausting work. Poor accommodation, bad food, terrible working conditions, it seems that they can tolerate everything.

Therefore, once they organize themselves to protest and ask for money, the conclusion that most people draw is that they've been so exploited by a dark-minded boss till they can't stand it any more. The dramatic role of Tang's gang exactly reflected the absolutely disadvantaged status of most migrant workers in real life.

As some netizens commented after the story, Tang was lucky that he encountered some weak bosses. Many such construction places have a team of strong bodyguards, or have developed a complicated relationship with local thugs.

Some just endlessly delay paying migrant workers. Once a protest occurs, those migrant workers will be "taught a lesson." Some netizens applauded the extortion by Tang's gang, holding that they at least let the bosses know what fear is. However, this is a crime.

Someday legal protection toward both labor contractors and migrant workers will be done and the negotiations between employers and workers can be conducted under a legal framework.

Then fake migrant workers won't succeed time and again, because normal workers can get their pay without threatening to beat the boss or jump off a bridge.

The author is a reporter with the Global Times. chenchenchen@globaltimes.com.cn