8-year pay ordeal ends for 400 migrant workers

The Henan High People’s court  helped some 400 migrant workers  get more than 4 million yuan ($654,000) in long-delayed back pay.

Zhang Liyong, head of the Henan High People’s Court, passes a check of 4,487,760 yuan to representatives of the workers in Xinyang on Monday, putting an end to the eight-year wage-seeking journey. [Xiang Minchao/chinadaily.com.cn]

Zhang Liyong, head of the court, passed the check of 4,487,760 yuan to representatives of the workers in Xinyang on Monday, putting an end to the eight-year case

You Kefu, a Fujian native, was the head of about 400 migrant workers on an expressway construction project in Xinyang in 2006 and 2007.

But Yunnan Highway and Bridge Co. Ltd, the contractors, refused to pay for their work, saying the project was not completed and the quality failed to meet standards.

You traveled around Yunnan, Henan and Shenzhen to seek redress.

He died in a traffic accident with his wife in 2009.

His three children continued to follow in his footsteps and sued the company.

Yunnan Highway and Bridge Co. Ltd was told to repay the money in June 2013 but the company failed to fulfill the obligation.

The migrant workers appealed to the court for enforcement in September and finally received the money via the court on Monday.