Workers in Three Chinese Provinces Say Owners Emptied Factories During National Day Holiday, Leaving Wages Unpaid

Workers in at least three Chinese provinces say they came back from the National Day holiday to find their employers gone and their wages unpaid. The holiday ran from Oct. 1 to Oct. 7 this year.

The accounts come from interviews by the Chinese-language edition of The Epoch Times and from videos circulating on Chinese social media. The workers spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fear of reprisal. Only their surnames have been given.

Hubei: a plant moved out

A worker surnamed Zhao told The Epoch Times on Oct. 6 that the hardware and plastics factory in Xiaogan, Hubei Province, where he worked had been moved out. The owner had disappeared, he said.

"The boss has fled," Zhao said. He described himself as a temporary worker and said the company had been putting off wage payments "every day."

Some workers elsewhere told the outlet they found their factories stripped of machinery and workstations. In their telling, only discarded materials and trash remained.

Fujian: no money, no bankruptcy filing

In Putian, Fujian Province, a worker surnamed Dong described a different situation at a small shoe factory. The owner had not fled.

"The boss hasn't fled. He just said there's no money and told us to wait for a while," Dong said.

Dong said workers tried to press the owner for their pay on Oct. 3. The factory employed several dozen people and, according to Dong, has not formally declared bankruptcy.

Dong said the owner diverted funds into other ventures and no longer has enough to pay the staff. That is Dong's allegation. The owner is not named and his side is not on record. Dong said he is owed more than two months of wages.

Zhejiang: guarding the gate

A woman surnamed Sun said her parents work at an insulated-cup factory in Yongkang, Zhejiang Province. More than 60 employees there have gone three months without pay, she said, and the owner has disappeared.

During the holiday, her parents and other workers stayed outside the factory for about a week. They wanted to keep anyone from removing the remaining equipment.

"My mom and dad were guarding the factory entrance during the holiday, afraid that someone would take away the things inside," Sun said. She said she does not know the total the factory owes its workers.

Machinery is often the only asset left that could be sold to cover back pay, so workers treat it as collateral. Once it leaves, the claim for wages gets much harder to collect.

What is and is not known

The picture rests on a small number of firsthand accounts. Three factories in three provinces are described by workers or their relatives, plus videos online in which workers complain that factories were emptied while they were away. Some workers said they believed owners used the holiday to remove equipment and close without telling employees. That is their belief about motive, not an established finding.

No owner has been named, and none has explained what happened. Dong's account also shows these cases are not identical: one owner reportedly vanished, another is reportedly still around and saying he has no cash.

The workers' accounts are not independently confirmed, and the number of affected factories nationwide is unknown. The accounts do not say whether local authorities have opened inquiries or whether any wages have been recovered.

The next test is whether any of these owners can be found, and whether labor or court processes in Hubei, Fujian or Zhejiang recover anything for the workers. In Yongkang, more than 60 people are owed roughly three months of pay, and the equipment at the factory is the only asset they know of to claim against.