Through six landmark cases, top court strengthens protections for migrant workers

China's top court released six landmark cases concerning wage arrears on Wednesday, aiming to standardize adjudication and demonstrate the judiciary's commitment to protecting workers' legitimate rights and interests.

The Supreme People's Court said it has directed courts nationwide since early this year to prioritize cases concerning migrant workers' wages and livelihood issues, stressing that safeguarding these rights is vital to public welfare and social progress.

Meanwhile, Chinese courts this year have focused more on strengthening coordination with relevant departments, targeting the root causes of such cases, building a comprehensive collaborative system, and working together to expedite the handling of wage arrears disputes in support of high-quality development, the top court added.

The disclosed cases include not only collaborative efforts to resolve wage disputes, but also the use of compulsory measures against those refusing to comply with court rulings to protect workers' rights, as well as judicial actions to facilitate the rapid liquidation of corporate assets for timely wage payments.

Among the released cases, seven workers turned to the Shanghai Jinshan District People's Court to enforce labor arbitration rulings against an exhibition services company that refused to comply with mediated settlements.

After several rounds of investigation, the court found that the company had no assets available for enforcement and was not operating at its registered address, with its business location frequently changing. Moreover, its legal representative, surnamed Zeng, was elusive — despite repeated attempts by the court to contact him, he avoided answering calls and refused to meet with the judges.

The court subsequently located Zeng's address, went to his residence to bring him in, and imposed a 15-day judicial detention and a fine of 1,000 yuan ($143) as punishment for his refusal to comply with the legal decision. Under this pressure, the company took initiative to pay all outstanding debts and fines.

Stressing the importance of putting people first in handling cases, the top court has called on courts at all levels to step up enforcement in wage arrears disputes involving migrant workers in order to promote social harmony and stability.