Migrant workers claim salaries by "news briefing"

2012-10-10 03:20:45 GMT2012-10-10 11:20:45(Beijing Time)  SINA English

By Miao Miao, Sina English

Recently, a video of “news briefing” to claim back salaries of 14 million Yuan for migrant workers has been widely viewed on the internet. A woman, named as “Miao Cuihua”, is said to be one of the migrant workers who are unpaid after completing the construction work for the Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration in north China's Tianjin municipality.

She mimicked the tone of foreign ministry spokesperson in the video expressing strong dissatisfaction to the “status quo”, and she claimed in the video that the department in question owes them money as well as a sincere apology.

“The woman was lying and just want to make a scene,” the Bureau of Civil Affairs, immediate boss to the abovementioned funeral department, in Han’gu district of Tianjin responded yesterday.

In the video, “Miao Cuihua” held such a “news briefing” and said she, along with other migrant workers, had worked on a project for Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration but the project fee of 14 million RMB was still behind in payment, in which 3.5 million Yuan should have been paid to them. “We urge the department to pay us immediately and unconditionally,” she said to the camera.

In 4009, the Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court ruled that Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration should pay 14 million RMB to the construction side, including the migrant workers’ wage of 3.5 million, as“Miao Cuihua” mentioned in the “news briefing”.

Tianjin Second Intermediate People's Court heard the case of default on construction cost by Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration, reported by Tianjin Tonight Newspaper in February, 2010.

The court ruled that Desheng Yihe joint investment co., LTD (Desheng Yihe), the partner of the funeral administration in the construction of Yi’anyuan Cemetery, owed Jiye Yonggu Construction Company 14 million Yuan of construction fees. The court verdict said that Desheng Yihe should payoff the rest construction fee of 11.9 million Yuan and the Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration should assume joint liability as the affiliated party.

“We saw the video and the woman is truth-twisting,” a woman of Han’gu Funeral and Interment Administration told reporters yesterday. She also said that the department will notify the media after investigation.

According to the woman, the project fee is 6.8 million Yuan actually, in which 2.8 million Yuan should be the salaries of migrant workers. But the two companies involved in the case are conspiring against each other to swindle the country's state assets.

“Money was paid off in 4009, and we have the confirming signatures.”

As to the video, netizens have doubts on its source, producer and, purpose. Reporters found that the video is firstly put on the internet by Wei Zhuang, a free-lance writer and was forwarded by thousands of people till last night.

Wei Zhuang said he doesn’t know these people recorded in the video and just “felt funny and somehow annoyed” when he watched the video in a forum and, then he put it on his microblog.

The video first appeared in a blog of “Migrant worker Cuihua” on May 24, 2012, who is suspected by netizens to be the “spokeswoman” in the video.

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