‘Return Our Blood-and-Sweat Money’: Protests Surge Across China Over Unpaid Wages

By Li Muzi, Vision Times

As the Lunar New Year approaches, a new wave of wage protests is spreading across mainland China. Unlike previous years, this latest “wage recovery surge” is drawing heightened attention because many of the employers accused of withholding pay are not private firms, but large Chinese Communist Party (CCP)-controlled state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Across multiple provinces, workers have gathered at construction sites, blocked entrances with vehicles, and staged sit-ins at company gates, demanding long-overdue wages.

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Major SOEs targeted

According to reports circulating on Chinese social media, on Feb. 3 in Guangzhou, Guangdong Province, workers at the Jiangnan New Area Phase IV project in Yueyuan District blocked the entrance of a construction site operated by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau (CSCEC Third Bureau), a major state-owned contractor. Videos show vehicles parked across the gate of a site marked “China Construction Third Engineering Bureau,” preventing access.

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On Feb. 2, workers also staged a sit-in at the entrance of Guangzhou Construction Group Co., Ltd., another large state-owned enterprise, over unpaid wages. That same day, employees at Zhongshan Public Utilities Urban Drainage Co., Ltd., a state-controlled listed company in Zhongshan, Guangdong, also blocked the gate in protest. One worker reportedly said wages had been withheld for four years.

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In Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, workers from the “Yunqishi” project gathered outside the state-owned Xi’an Caotan Group Company to demand back pay.

One netizen, posting under the name “Erka,” wrote: “This year, even a ‘national team’ like China Construction Third Bureau dares to withhold wages for four years?! Workers risk their lives building skyscrapers, yet they don’t even have money for a train ticket home for the New Year! Local governments owe tens of trillions in debt, officials shout ‘common prosperity,’ but workers’ blood-and-sweat money gets stripped layer by layer until all that’s left is two options: wage protests or jumping off buildings! This isn’t an economic downturn, this is systemic robbery + slow murder! Wake up, people!”

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Another commenter observed that the same pattern was unfolding nationwide: “Same day, different cities, same issue. Withholding pay is becoming the standard for workers in this era. Wage arrears have become normal, while demanding wages has become an ‘incident.’ The law exists in documents, but workers can only stand at the gate. If a society relies on blocking entrances to settle the value of labor, then the problem is no longer inside the gate, but within the CCP system itself.”

Farmers hit hard

On Feb. 2 in Zhoukou, Henan Province, workers protested unpaid wages at a Central Grain Reserve (CGR) warehouse project. The contractor was China Construction Seventh Engineering Division, another state-owned enterprise. That same day in Shanghai’s Zhujiajiao Township, workers gathered at a local governance center demanding government assistance in recovering wages from Shanghai Baoye Group, a state-affiliated company.

Meanwhile, in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, workers at the Tiancheng Chengyuan Phase III project blocked the entrance of China Construction Science & Industry Group Co., Ltd., an SOE contractor. Workers said wages had been delayed for a full year. Similar wage protests were also reported in Yibin, Sichuan Province, at the Jinzuo Shimao Yunjin Phase III development.

On Feb. 3 in Lanzhou, Gansu Province, workers protested outside Gansu Third Construction Group Co., Ltd., a wholly state-owned enterprise, over unpaid wages. Reports also emerged from Hami in Xinjiang, Lu’an in Anhui, and Guanghan in Sichuan, where workers at a New Eu Peng construction site allegedly threatened to jump from a building in desperation.

Workers detained by police

In Hancheng, Shaanxi Province, workers reportedly went directly to the city government on February 3, demanding official intervention. Videos show large crowds gathered at the entrance, with shouting, pushing, and security personnel lined up inside the gate.

In Nanning, Guangxi Province, migrant workers seeking wages at a construction site were reportedly taken away by police. One video shows officers forcing a protesting man into a police vehicle. A netizen who shared the footage commented: “Migrant workers may face detention. The boss straightened his back the moment the police arrived! You can maliciously withhold wages, but you cannot maliciously demand wages!”

On Feb. 4, numerous Douyin (a popular video-sharing app similar to TikTok) users posted videos of workers pleading for their pay. One protester cried out: “Who will pity us? Our blood-and-sweat money gets owed for years!” Another said: “No money, how can I survive the New Year?”

In Wuhan, workers reportedly shouted in unison during the protests, demanding, “China Construction Eighth Bureau, return our blood-and-sweat money!” Notably, many observers believe the growing volume of wage protest videos has alarmed authorities and is being scrubbed. By the time of publication, comment sections on Douyin wage protest clips had been deleted from social media platforms.

Reaching a boiling point

On X, netizens condemned the wage arrears crisis and blamed the political system. One wrote: “Wage withholding and wage recovery have become the norm. Resistance must intensify, or people will be endlessly bullied.” Another said: “This is institutional evil, a phenomenon unique in the world.” Others went even further, arguing: “Most disasters are systemic disasters. Only by completely overthrowing the CCP can China’s social problems be truly solved.”

As China’s economy continues to weaken, wage arrears have now spread into sectors once considered financially secure, including major state-owned enterprises and even government-linked projects.