Student workers at a gym in Lianyungang, Jiangsu, marched through the streets in their work uniforms on 12 August protesting the non-payment of wages.

The students from outside Lianyungang, including some local high schoolers, worked at the gym for over a month. Many worked outside in the summer heat, and some were even hospitalised from heat stroke and had to pay for medical treatment out of pocket.

The gym owner never paid the students and even refused to recognise them as employees, despite ample evidence. When they approached the local labour department for help, the students, who had no labour contracts, were told it was their own fault for lacking legal knowledge.

More than 100 students took summer jobs for two months at a waterpark in Jianhu, Jiangsu, only to be paid a few hundred yuan. When the boss delayed their full salary payments, the students took action.

One student climbed to the top of a stage during a variety show at the park on 30 August and threatened to jump. The student was coaxed down with the promise of payment, but when no money came the students blockaded the entrance to the park with benches and dump trucks.

Students and their parents flooded the local police department demanding action. Police eventually apprehended the owner of the park and demanded that he pay the 430,000 yuan owed to the students.