Boss jailed for a year for refusing to pay workers (2)

"I couldn't get in touch with him to get my pay last year, because he changed his cellphone number and left town," Lai said.

"I was afraid my money was lost forever."

Zhang Liyong, head of Henan High People's Court, said: "Most of the migrant workers led simple, poor lives, and if they were not paid, their children might have had to drop out of school".

According to a law revised in May 2011, non-payment of workers is a crime punishable by up to three years in prison.

"Before the law was revised, refusing to pay workers was deemed a violation of contract law, and as such was not a crime," Zhang said.

"Making it a criminal offense is expected to help reduce such incidents."

Yang Zhiming, vice-minister of human resources and social security, said in November that the government had helped 1.29 million migrant workers recover 5.92 billion yuan in unpaid wages.

Liu Defa, a law professor at Zhengzhou University, said that refusing to pay migrant workers should be severely punished because it can lead to social unrest.

"To get their money, some helpless migrant workers have resorted to extreme measures, such as threatening to jump from high buildings or bridges, which can stir public anger," he said.

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