China Wage Protests: Yinchuan Workers Recover Two Months of Back Pay

More than 100 workers at Ruixin Agricultural Development Co.’s main vegetable market in Helan County, Yinchuan, Ningxia, staged a two-day strike on Oct. 11–12 and reportedly secured two months of unpaid wages, according to a report by the protest-monitoring group Yesterday.

Footage posted by the group shows workers marching in the streets, with police officers and vehicles nearby. Protesters chanted, “We want our hard-earned money!” The group said demonstrators also blocked entrances during the dispute.

Online reactions quoted in the original report included, “This is the only way that works; otherwise, no one would take them seriously,” and “News like this should be reported.”

Other wage disputes

On Oct. 15, dozens of road maintenance workers gathered outside the Qianxi County Transportation Bureau in Tangshan, Hebei Province, saying they had not been paid for five and a half months despite repeated requests for payment, according to Yesterday.

In Shenzhen, about 400 workers at the Royal Holiday Food Spa complex in Luohu District struck Sept. 30–Oct. 1 over three months of unpaid wages and missed social insurance contributions. Workers said the owner could not be reached.

For the best of our weekly content！

You are now signed up for our newsletter

Check your email to complete sign up

On Sept. 16, cleaning workers at the Future Road campus of Pingdingshan No. 1 People’s Hospital in Henan Province reportedly stopped work after five months without pay. Days earlier, on Sept. 9, wage claimants placed a banner above the logo at Nanjing Chengbei MixC mall demanding, “Pay us what we are owed! Give us back our hard-earned money!”

On Sept. 5, hundreds of renovation workers and foremen rallied outside Jimu Home’s flagship store in Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, demanding back pay. Protest monitors reported that the home-renovation chain’s Gaoxin and Darongcheng outlets had suspended operations and that numerous renovation projects had stalled.

Other grievances lead to protests

On Oct. 10, hundreds of homeowners at the Chengwang Junxi residential complex in Nanning, Guangxi, dismantled a property management office and expelled its staff, according to the protest-monitoring group Yesterday. Residents alleged years of neglect, including green spaces converted into vegetable gardens and animal pens and a swimming pool used for raising fish.

At Zhongwei International Mansion in Zhijiang County, Hunan Province, residents confronted officials on Sept. 29 over planned removal of rooftop structures deemed to exceed height limits. Residents said proposed flight-route changes at a nearby airport prompted new restrictions. They expressed concern about building safety, elevator function, and waterproofing and said officials had not provided safety assurances or a compensation plan.

Between Aug. 25 and Sept. 8, hundreds of former coal miners diagnosed with pneumoconiosis repeatedly visited authorities in Fengjie County, Chongqing, seeking medical treatment and financial assistance. Workers said support promised under a 2022 local relief policy had not been fully provided.

On Sept. 3, dozens of buyers at the unfinished Kangqiao Nayunxi housing project in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, climbed onto a rooftop with banners calling for their homes to be delivered. The project was scheduled for handover in 2022; the protest group reported that construction remained stalled despite the city’s earlier statement that work had “substantially resumed.”