Ministries address timely wage payments before Chinese New Year

China has urged for various labor departments and local governments to settle payment disputes within seven days over delayed wage payments involving cases with more than 10 people.

According to an official statement released Monday, a pilot move has been implemented to ensure that migrant workers receive money which is owed to them before Spring Festival.

There have been several cases where migrant workers have not received their wages on time despite previous official efforts intended to prevent such things from happening, said Yin Weimin, the Minister of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS), according to the statement.

The statement was made at a conference, jointly held by nine ministrial-level organs, including the MHRSS, National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security and the Ministry of Finance, in an action to address implementing further joint efforts to prevent delayed wage payments for migrant workers.

According to the statement, the director of a labor dispute arbitration commission will now supervise cases in which salaries higher than 1,000 yuan ($158) are not promptly paid to migrant workers.

"The move is of great significance to migrant workers so that they can receive their wages which are owed to them in order to enjoy Spring Festival," Liu Minghui, a Labor Law professor with China Women's University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Liu said the new time limit in solving payment disputes could also help prevent further illegal and vicious incidents from happening over late wage payments.

However, Chen Tao, a lawyer with the Beijing Junyong Law Firm, told the Global Times that fair court trials involving such cases probably can not be guaranteed even though it could urge authorities to settle the cases more efficiently.