Shanxi resolute in ending illegal labor practices

Local government has been intensifying measures to crack down on illegal kilns, mines and workshops over past six years

(ECNS) -- The authorities in north China's Shanxi province will start a new campaign against enterprises that avoid paying worker wages, a problem that has been on the rise in recent years, an official told China News Service.

All departments are busy with preparations, and hopefully this year's campaign will be more effective, said Jia Xinming, deputy director of the labor relations division at the Shanxi Human Resources and Social Security Department.

Since some brick kilns were found illegally confining teenage workers and forcing them into heavy labor in 2007, the Shanxi government has been taking measures designed to protect labor interests.

This year-end campaign is just one of them, and there are many others, such as requiring employers to file labor contracts to ensure workers' rights, Jia added.

Only one child labor case in 2013

When a number of brick kilns were caught exploiting slave-like labor six years ago in Shanxi, then-governor Yu Youjun admitted that small kilns, mines and workshops in rural areas were out of control.

A lack of government oversight had given rise to the practice of smuggling mentally disabled and other vulnerable persons for slave labor.

In response, the government quickly set out to regulate local industry, shutting down all illegal kilns, mines and workshops.

As of November, collieries with an annual output capacity of less than 900,000 tons, and kilns with an annual output capacity lower than 1 million bricks, had basically disappeared.

Back in 2007 the local government urged various departments to cooperate in strengthening labor protection, and at the same time pushed for the establishment of a province-wide labor security monitoring network.

By last June, it had set up 204 labor security supervision organizations and 1,312 township supervision stations, and allocated 14,705 personnel to ensure the work.

Meanwhile, the government has made signing contracts mandatory for all companies hiring workers, and labor contracts must be submitted for government supervision.

If an enterprise is caught hiring a child laborer, the enterprise will be fined 5,000 yuan each month the child has worked, said Wang Tao, head of the labor security supervision team in Shanxi province.

We have only found one child labor case in 2013, a much smaller occurrence compared to previous years, added Wang.

Measures to widen

With many reforms carried out over the last six years, the labor protection work has delivered positive results, yet now there are more and more problems related to unpaid wages, said Wang.

At least 70 percent of the complaints come from the construction industry, he said.

The Shanxi Human Resources and Social Security Department has begun plans to tackle the problem, warning enterprises that deliberately delaying or refusing to pay wages could result in criminal prosecution.

In 2012, an enterprise owner was given 2 years and 4 months in prison for withholding worker wages, the first punishment of its kind in Shanxi province.

This year, the Shanxi Human Resources and Social Security Department has issued new guidelines for tackling wage payment problems, offering direct channels for workers to complain as well as giving them professional support.