Chongqing Migrant Workers Unpaid & Beaten, SWAT Deployed

From ifeng:

Chongqing deploys SWAT police to demand migrant workers’ salaries

May 3rd, at the Top of City Garden construction site, the Chongqing police and Jiangbei District government distributed the first batch of wages to migrant workers who were owed wages. According to the police, after checking accounts over consecutive nights, the public security organs and relevant government departments have already confirmed the names and amounts owed to the first batch of migrant workers., totally 61 individuals and over 800,000 yuan. The construction site’s developer has also promised to advance the wages owed on behalf of the building contractor. From that day forward, all wages owed accounts in arrears have been settled, and the developer is providing 2 million yuan in cash every day on the premises to be available for settling accounts with the workers who are owed wages.

“Thanks to the Party, thanks to the government, thanks to Chongqing’s public security [bureau]!” At the disbursement point, 59-year-old migrant worker Pi Guanglie from Dianjiang county was the very first migrant worker to receive the wages owed to him. When he got the 5 months of wages totaling 14,250 yuan owed him, he excitedly said thanks three times and even bowed emotionally to express his appreciation. Old Pi said he has been working away from home for 40 years, his wife and child are both sick at home unable to earn money and completely relying on subsistence assistance, and he is the only source of income in the entire family. “Working away from home to earn money is not easy, being owed wages, beaten and cursed at is unavoidable; but having the government and public security organ coming out [to help us], and resolving the problem this quickly? This is the first time!

May 1st, Chongqing Jiangbei District, SWAT members capture suspects at the construction site. Chongqing police disclosed that a local black-hearted [ruthless, corrupt, evil] subcontractor and 20-some hired thugs have been arrested by the police. According to their information, this black-hearted subcontractor would rather not pay the 2000 yuan average monthly salary of his workers and instead employ expensive 5000 yuan per month “black” security specifically to teach a lesson to migrant workers who demanded their wages.

At present, the construction site involved, Top of City Garden, has been sealed under charges of disrupting public order, the black-hearted subcontractor Yu Gang and his 20-some hired thugs were arrested by the police.

May 1st, Chongqing Jiangbei District, police investigating and collecting evidence from the “construction site hired thugs” living quarters. Through their investigations, [they learned that] the assailants wielding hand weapons were all security guards of the Top of City Construction Project Department and that most of the employees this construction site are from Jiangsu and Zhejiang province. [In addition], that construction site head Foreman Yu Gang, in order to deal with a “dispute” that had arisen during construction, had at the end of 2010 begun paying 5000 yuan a month to hire 20-some hooligans from Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, and local Chongqing to form a black security team to specially punish any migrant workers who dared come demand their wages.

The police found special-made steel pipe weapons in the “construction site hired thugs'” living quarters.

May 1st, Police arrest many “construction site hired thugs”.

Police sealing the “construction site’s hired thugs” living quarters. At present, black subcontractor Yu Gang has already been detained on criminal charges by the police while the other black security guards have all been sentenced to labor reeducation. Police are currently investigating and prosecuting the other criminal acts of those involved in the case.

When the police were sealing the scene, the 200-some migrant workers working inside one after another demanded that this black-hearted subcontractor and black hired thugs be severely punished. Dozens of workers at the scene said that the project department headed by Yu Gang has owed them wages ranging from 12,000 to 20,000 each since last year.

Many injured migrant workers said they have been beaten multiple times for demanding their wages.

The Chongqing City Public Security Bureau informed the media that on the evening of 2011 April 30th, the head of the Chongqing Public Security Bureau Crime Division, while passing through Sanwan Road near the Top of City Garden construction site on a case, saw a group of men carrying metal pipes and vegetable knives chasing and attacking several middle-aged men. From professional instinct, he quickly got out of the car, identified himself, and stepped forth to stop it, not anticipating then being surrounded and beaten up. After this, the Jiangbei District police rushed to the scene, subduing two male assailants and trouble-makers, while the other male assailants all fled, and that night the police conducted further investigations on the matter.

Comments from ifeng:

黑龙江省大庆市网友:

Good, this what serving the people really is!

浙江省台州市网友:

Days in Chongqing are bright days.

广东省深圳市网友:

Without an effective supervision system, do you plan on deploying a SWAT team every time to get migrant workers their wages? Throughout the entire country, how many SWAT teams are needed to deal with this small amount of migrant workers’ wages???

上海市网友:

Haven’t seen such happy news in a long time.

无线网友:

Chongqing has been doing such a good job these past two years fighting corruption/crime, always at the forefront of the country, and deserves to be encouraged and imitated! Ding!

广东省东莞市网友:

[I] praise [this], will consider emigrating to Chongqing.

广东省茂名市网友:

A miracle! In this day and age, there are still people who do what people do [do the right thing]. So hard to come by!!!

浙江省杭州市网友:

There’s probably isn’t one out ten thousand migrant workers in the entire country who is this lucky.

无线网友:

Shoot the subcontractor.

无线网友:

If you dare to attack even the head of the police crime division, this is the result.