Should deliberately defaulting on employees' pay be made a crime? This is a question that requires serious attention to protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees.

Despite efforts by governments at various levels and trade unions, it is still a problem that haunts many workers, migrant workers in particular, to get paid for the work they have done. Employers often try to invent excuses to withhold wages or even brazenly deny payment.

In such circumstances, it is often very difficult for workers to get back payment in arrears. A lawyer who has handled many cases of this kind reveals that many workers do not have enough evidence to take their employers to court.

In a recent case, a woman employee of a garment company in Hangzhou succeeded in winning a lawsuit against her employer, who not just defaulted on her pay but hired thugs to beat her and forced her to sign a paper claiming that she had sold the company's business secrets.

Fortunately, she secretly recorded the conversations with her employer when she asked for her arrears. The tape she kept became important evidence against her employer. Her success would have been impossible had it not been for the tape, but the price she paid for it was the beating and humiliation.

Local governments have paid a lot of attention to the problem since 2003 when Premier Wen Jiabao helped a migrant worker in suburban Chongqing get back her payment in arrears. But it takes a lot of time for workers to go through labor arbitration, let alone court procedures, before they get back their arrears. Sometimes, they still fail to get their money even after all legal procedures because of a lack of evidence.

It is not rare for many to just give up or for some to adopt extreme measures such as threatening to jump to their death from highrises or cranes, or killing their employers. So the cost is too high for an ordinary employee to defend his or her legitimate rights and interests.

In comparison, it is too easy for an employer to violate the rights and interests of employees. The Labor Law does stipulate that employers are not allowed to deduct employees' pay or default on their stipend without adequate reason. But even if they lose in such cases, they just have to repay the amount owed or pay a small sum in compensation. The great odd of being able to get away with their violations is interpreted as the major reason why many employers try to delay or deny payment to employees.

What about increasing the cost of such violations by making it a crime? Putting employers behind bars for deliberately defaulting on payment may deter them from doing so. Given the impact such violations have on social stability, we may need to amend the law to make such violations costly for employers.

(China Daily 11/26/2009 page8)