A handful of construction workers gathered at the gate of a property development construction site in Haikou, Hainan on 4 December to protest the hiring of scabs after the workers had put down their tools over two years of unpaid wages.

When journalists arrived at the scene, worker representatives were locked in discussions with the subcontractor who had hired them but who claimed in turn that he was owed money by the developer. Worker representatives went to the primary developer where staff admitted that they had failed to pay some subcontractors, but questioned whether the workers’ salaries were part of the unpaid fees.

Workers finally got the government to intervene, though the companies refused to consider payment until after the government report was published.

When a dozen workers from Sichuan came to Lingao, Hainan to work on a road construction project, they were promised to be paid by the month. By the end of the project, they had not been paid at all.

For weeks, workers made phone calls and visits in person with the subcontractor, who repeatedly promised, and failed, to pay them. Workers went to the labour department no less than five times, but officials just told them to continue talking with their boss. Workers were forced to borrow money from family members to survive, and one even missed his own wedding.

Workers finally went to the primary construction company, which at first had only promised to pay them a portion of the wages. After long negotiations, the construction company agreed to pay the workers the next day.