Legal Aid Center Seeks Gradual End of Labor Subcontracts in Construction Sector

The annual report of the government-sponsored Beijing Migrant Workers Legal Aid Center said that labor subcontractors “have become a serious obstacle to the protection of migrant worker rights,” according to a January 18 China Youth Daily article. Established in September 2005, the Center has received 2,007 inquiries regarding cases, 757 of which represent back wage issues involving more than 13,000 workers and totaling about 35 million yuan (about US $ 4.3 million) of disputed back wages. The Center has accepted 271 of these cases.

After they arrive in Beijing, the majority of migrant workers rely on labor subcontractors to help them find work, according to the China Youth Daily article. These subcontractors make oral agreements with migrant workers and then subcontract them out to companies, who pay the subcontractor. In theory, the workers are then paid by the subcontractor. If disputes over wages arise, however, migrant workers have difficulty obtaining the wages owed to them. The article notes that labor authorities do not accept migrant worker cases seeking to recover back wages from subcontractors, citing the lack of a formal contractual relationship between the two. Courts also reject migrant worker efforts to obtain wages from the companies where they actually worked, viewing the labor dispute as one between worker and subcontractor. The Center’s annual report asserts that some labor subcontractors have stolen wages owed to migrant workers.

The Center’s annual report calls on Chinese authorities to gradually eliminate labor subcontractors from the construction industry, where many reported wage violations occur. The report also proposes that companies themselves sign contracts with migrant workers and assume the responsibility for paying their wages.

For more information on the issue of wage arrears in China, see Section III(C) on the Protection of Internationally Recognized Labor Rights in the Commission's 2005 Annual Report.