The Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Human Resources and Social Security released typical cases of disputes involving wage arrears
We should do a solid job of eradicating wage arrears and earnestly safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers
Receiving labor remuneration on time and in full is the most concerned right of workers. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core has made important arrangements to strengthen the protection of workers' rights and interests and deepen the eradication of wage arrears. In order to thoroughly study and implement the important arrangements of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on improving the system for protecting the rights and interests of workers and the Central Economic Work Conference on ensuring that migrant workers' wages are paid on time and in full, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions jointly released typical cases of disputes involving wage arrears, clarifying the diversified ways to resolve wage arrears disputes through cases, promoting the implementation of the security system, curbing the occurrence of wage arrears at the source, improving the long-term mechanism for curbing wage arrears, and effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers and social harmony and stability. This batch of cases has the following characteristics:
1. Strengthen departmental linkage and weave a "protective net" for the root cause of wage arrears. The people's courts, administrative departments for human resources and social security, labor and personnel dispute arbitration institutions, trade unions and other relevant functional departments adhere to the people-centered approach, and comprehensively use various means such as trade unions' participation in mediation and negotiation, administrative law enforcement, labor dispute arbitration, and justice to properly resolve wage arrears disputes. Among the typical cases released this time, there are not only cases in which the people's courts, administrative departments for human resources and social security, labor and personnel dispute arbitration institutions, trade unions and other departments jointly carry out the prevention and resolution of conflicts and disputes on a regular basis, but also cases in which litigation and mediation are connected to promote the substantive resolution of conflicts and disputes, and trade unions actively coordinate with the procuratorate to initiate civil support for prosecution. Based on their statutory functions, the people's courts, administrative departments for human resources and social security, labor and personnel dispute arbitration institutions, and trade unions are to explore the creation of a linkage chain for the eradication of wage arrears, make every effort to solve the problem of "urgency, hardship and longing" of the masses, and continuously meet the people's yearning and demand for a better life, so that workers can feel the power and temperature of the rule of law in every case of recourse to wage arrears, and form a general pattern of protecting the legitimate rights and interests of workers.
2. Strengthen multiple measures at the same time to establish a "fast lane" for the eradication of wage arrears. Wage arrears disputes are related to the protection of workers' survival interests, and it is of great significance to ensure the rapid realization of their interests. Based on their own functions, each department ensures that disputes over arrears of wages are handled in a timely and efficient manner. The people's courts continue to improve the green channels for the speedy filing, trial, and enforcement of cases of migrant workers' wages in arrears, to ensure that workers can promptly realize their rights and interests in winning lawsuits. In the case of a labor contract dispute between 114 migrant workers including Wang and Yu, the people's court completed all the enforcement within 20 days, and in the case of a labor contract dispute between 10 people including Yin and a certain unit, the people's court made full use of the payment order, people's mediation and judicial confirmation to efficiently fulfill the legitimate rights and interests of the workers. Make full use of the achievements of the construction of "smart courts" to create an online litigation platform, effectively respond to the urgent needs of parties for litigation convenience and efficiency through digital empowerment, and at the same time strengthen offline litigation guidance for parties who do not know how to use online platforms, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of parties in an all-round way. In the case of a wage arrears dispute between 11 migrant workers including Yan, the trade union mediator quickly resolved the dispute through online and offline mediation. In the case of Li and 48 others suing a manufacturing company for a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration, the labor and personnel dispute arbitration institution quickly adjudicated the case through the expedited tribunal for migrant workers' wage disputes, so as to protect their legitimate rights and interests in a timely and effective manner.
3. Actively perform their duties, based on the "forefront" of eradicating wage arrears. Adhere to and develop the "Fengqiao experience" in the new era, deepen the concept of "grasping the front end and curing the disease before it happens", extend the "adjustment" of the docking of complaints and mediation, and resolve contradictions and disputes at the grassroots level and in the bud. The Supreme People's Court, together with the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, continues to promote the docking of online litigation and mediation, realizing the systematic and normalized docking of internal and external dispute resolution methods, and meeting the diverse dispute resolution needs of workers and employers in a convenient and efficient manner. In the case of a dispute over arrears of wages of 9 migrant workers including Xiao, the integrated base for employee legal services brought together the functions of mediation, legal aid, arbitration, litigation and other functions of trade unions, courts, judicial administration, human resources and social security departments, created a "Fengqiao" mechanism in the field of labor relations, and carried out governance at the source of labor disputes. In a dispute over arrears of wages for a contractor of a real estate project, the local federation of trade unions took the initiative to intervene in advance after discovering clues about wage arrears through the 12351 hotline, and coordinated with the competent department of the industry to coordinate the full payment of wages by the enterprise. In the case of 114 migrant workers including Wang v. Yu et al., the people's court actively participated in the comprehensive social governance in a timely manner through judicial suggestions in response to the problems discovered during the trial such as the failure of the enterprise to implement the wage guarantee system. In the bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization case of an equipment company, the people's court and the administrative department of human resources and social security held a special job fair for the employees of the bankrupt enterprise to properly solve the problem of the placement of 235 employees. Persist in putting non-litigation dispute resolution mechanisms at the forefront, actively promote the governance and diversified resolution of litigation sources of wage arrears disputes, and promote the establishment of long-term mechanisms for the root cause of wage arrears through litigation source governance.
4. Clarify the rules for adjudication and adjudication, and establish a "weather vane" for the eradication of wage arrears. Give play to the leading and exemplary role of typical cases, cultivate the awareness of employers and workers to consciously abide by the law and use the law, and guide the parties to form reasonable litigation expectations and rationally protect their rights in accordance with the law. In view of the employee's weak ability to collect evidence and the lack of awareness of retaining evidence, it is clarified that the employer bears the burden of proof for the payment of the employee's wages, and the evidence obtained by the labor security supervision agency in accordance with the law can be used as arbitration evidence. Clarify the main body responsible for the settlement of arrears of wages in the construction field, and better protect the wage rights and interests of migrant workers. In the labor contract dispute case of Lu v. Liu, a construction company, etc., the people's court ordered the individual who contracted the labor service project and the construction unit that allowed the "affiliation" to jointly bear the responsibility for the payment of migrant workers' wages, which was conducive to forcing the construction unit to participate in construction activities in accordance with laws and regulations, and effectively reducing the occurrence of "affiliation". Actively respond to new working methods in the digital economy, standardize new types of remuneration payment methods, clarify that employers should reach a consensus with employees on changing wage payment methods, and establish rules for determining online overtime pay, so as to ensure that employees receive labor remuneration in full and in a timely manner.
The interests of people's livelihood are no trivial matter, and every branch and leaf is always a matter of affection. In the next step, the Supreme People's Court, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions will go all out to promote the implementation of the eradication of wage arrears, smooth the channels for rights protection, strengthen the bottom line of people's livelihood, effectively safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers, and contribute to high-quality economic development and social harmony and stability.
◾ Case Directory
Case 1: Government-hospital linkage to achieve a "win-win" situation of resolving wage arrears and promoting employment
-- A case of bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization of an equipment company
Case 2: Judicial advice to promote the management of the source of wage arrears disputes
-- Wang and 114 other migrant workers sued Yu, an engineering technology company, an electrical company, a municipal highway company, and other labor contract disputes
Case 3: "Payment Order + Mediation" Constructs a "Fast Lane" for Workers' Rights Protection
——Yin and 10 others sued a unit for a labor contract dispute
Case 4: The affiliated construction unit shall bear the liability for the repayment of arrears of wages caused by the "affiliated" construction
-- Lu v. Liu, a construction company, and a real estate company, a labor contract dispute
Case 5: The employer should reach an agreement with the employee on the change of wage payment method
——Yang v. a training center, a labor dispute case
Case 6: Online overtime pay should be determined based on factors such as the frequency and duration of overtime work, wage standards, and work content
-- Li v. a cultural media company, a labor dispute case
Case 7: The employer bears the burden of proof for the payment of migrant workers' wages
-- Tang v. a construction labor service company, a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Case 8: Evidence obtained by the labor and social security supervision agency in accordance with the law can be used as arbitration evidence
——Lai v. a real estate company, a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Case 9: Giving full play to the role of multiple handling mechanisms to resolve collective labor disputes
——Li and 48 others sued a manufacturing company for a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Case 10: The trade union actively coordinated with the procuratorate to support the prosecution and help the workers protect their rights
-- Niu and 14 others sued a catering company for a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Case 11: Multi-departmental collaboration to resolve wage arrears disputes
——Xiao and other 9 migrant workers wage arrears dispute case
Case 12: "Court + Trade Union" litigation and mediation docking to promote the substantive resolution of conflicts and disputes
-- Case of a dispute over arrears of wages between 11 migrant workers including Yan
Case 13: Give full play to the function of the 12351 hotline to protect the legitimate rights and interests of workers
-- A dispute over arrears of wages by a real estate project contractor
Case 1
Government-hospital linkage to achieve a "win-win" situation of resolving wage arrears and promoting employment
-- A case of bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization of an equipment company
Basic facts of the case
An equipment company is in financial difficulties, with a debt scale of more than 800 million yuan, involving more than 410 creditors. In July 2022, the people's court ruled to accept the creditor's application for bankruptcy liquidation of a certain equipment company. As of the time of bankruptcy acceptance, there were still 235 registered employees in an equipment company, who had been in arrears for 7 months of wages and had not paid social insurance premiums for a long time, resulting in difficulties in the life of employees and the inability to enjoy basic medical insurance benefits.
Adjudication Results
Taking into account factors such as the large number of employees and the long period of arrears of wages of a certain equipment company, the trial court guided the manager to appease the emotions of the employees and step up the verification of creditor's rights, and at the same time, relying on the linkage mechanism of the government and the court, it actively sought to advance more than 550 yuan in arrears of wages in full from the emergency guarantee fund for arrears. The trial court led the human resources and social security department to hold a special job fair at the same time, exporting the technical talents, skilled workers and other talent resources of a certain equipment company to other enterprises in the same industry to help employees re-employ, and the on-site intention signing rate exceeded 50%, basically solving the problem of resettlement of 235 employees.
Typical significance
Bankruptcy proceedings can reallocate resources and improve the rescue and exit mechanisms of socialist market entities through the survival of the fittest in enterprises. Article 27 of the Minutes of the National Conference on the Trial of Bankruptcy by Courts stipulates that: "Enterprise bankruptcy and protection of employees' rights and interests. In bankruptcy proceedings, labor relations should be properly handled in accordance with the law, and the mechanism for guaranteeing employees' arrears of wages should be promoted and improved, and the right to survival of employees should be protected in accordance with the law. In principle, the employee's creditor's rights advanced by a third party shall be repaid in accordance with the nature of the employee's creditor's rights advanced, and if they are advanced by the Wage Arrears Protection Fund, they shall be repaid in accordance with the order of Article 113, Paragraph 1, Item 2 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law. The housing provident fund owed by the debtor shall be paid off in accordance with the nature of the wages owed by the debtor. "In this case, the people's court properly handled the labor relationship in accordance with the law, promoted the improvement of the mechanism for protecting employees' arrears of wages, and protected the employees' right to subsistence in accordance with the law. For eligible bankrupt enterprises, the people's courts shall actively coordinate the payment of employees' creditor's rights in advance by means of advance payment from the wage arrears protection fund, and promptly resolve the long-pending issue of the wages of the employees of the bankrupt enterprise. At the same time, the re-employment of employees of bankrupt enterprises is closely related to their subsequent livelihood security. The people's courts give full play to the advantages of the government-court linkage mechanism to efficiently solve the problem of arrears of wages and resettlement of employees of bankrupt enterprises, continue to give full play to the social value of technical talents, and promote social and economic development.
Case 2
Judicial advice is used to promote the management of the source of wage arrears disputes
-- Wang and 114 other migrant workers sued Yu, an engineering technology company, an electrical company, a municipal highway company, and other labor contract disputes
Basic facts of the case
An engineering technology company, an electrical appliance company, and a municipal highway corporation voluntarily formed a consortium to win the bid for a traffic engineering project involved in the case, and an engineering technology company was the leading unit. Yu subcontracted part of the construction project from an engineering technology company. During the construction process, Yu hired 114 migrant workers including Wang to provide labor services, and Yu owed Wang and others a total of 3404085 yuan in wages. Wang and others filed a lawsuit because their wages had not been paid for a long time, demanding that Yu, an engineering technology company, an electrical company, and a municipal highway company pay more than 280 yuan in the remaining wages.
Adjudication Results
The trial court held that Yu hired 114 migrant workers such as Wang to carry out construction on his contracted project, and that there was a labor contract relationship between the two parties, and that after Wang and others completed the construction according to the contract, Yu should pay Wang and others full wages. An engineering technology company, an electrical appliance company, and a municipal highway corporation voluntarily formed a consortium, and an engineering technology company, as the lead unit, illegally subcontracted the project involved in the case to Yu, who did not have the qualifications to be an employing entity, and should bear joint responsibility for the wages owed by Yu, and ruled that Yu, an engineering technology company, an electrical appliance company, and a municipal highway company should jointly pay wages to Wang and others. The wages of 114 migrant workers were fully paid within 20 days. The trial court issued a judicial recommendation to the administrative department for the illegal act of failing to deposit the wage deposit of migrant workers in accordance with the law reflected in this case, and the competent department attached great importance to the suggestion after receiving it and replied in a timely manner, achieving good results.
Typical significance
Wages are an important livelihood guarantee for migrant workers. Guaranteeing the payment of migrant workers' wages is not only related to the vital interests of the majority of migrant workers, but also related to social fairness, justice, harmony and stability. In this case, the people's court used the integrated dispute resolution mechanism of "filing + trial + enforcement" to order the winning consortium to jointly bear the responsibility for the repayment of the arrears of migrant workers' wages, and the full implementation was completed within 20 days, efficiently cashing out the legitimate rights and interests of more than 100 migrant workers. Paragraph 1 of Article 32 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulates that: "The general construction contractor shall, in accordance with the relevant regulations, store the wage deposit for the special purpose of paying the arrears of wages for the migrant workers who provide labor for the contracted project." "After discovering that the enterprise has violated the law during the trial, the people's court gives full play to the role of judicial initiative, participates in the "big article" of social governance with the "small incision" of judicial recommendations, integrates judicial suggestions into the governance of wage arrears, urges the administrative organs to perform their duties and responsibilities in accordance with the law, and orders the enterprise to store the wage deposit of migrant workers in a timely manner in accordance with the law, so as to promote the management of the source of litigation. This case is based on prevention at the source and front-end governance, and the people's courts actively connect with the administrative departments to strengthen the joint force of conflict and dispute resolution, properly resolve disputes over arrears of wages, and achieve the organic unity of political, legal, and social effects.
Case 3
"Payment Order + Mediation" Builds a "Fast Lane" for Workers' Rights Protection
——Yin and 10 others sued a unit for a labor contract dispute
Basic facts of the case
Yin and 10 others are elderly people who have been rehired after retirement, and they work in a certain unit after retirement. A certain unit did not pay Yin and 10 others in full labor remuneration, and the amount of arrears of wages ranged from thousands of yuan to tens of thousands of yuan, and the total amount of arrears of wages amounted to more than 360,000 yuan. Yin and 10 others sued and requested a certain unit to pay the unpaid labor remuneration.
Adjudication Results
The trial court held that the failure of a certain unit to pay labor remuneration on time constituted a breach of contract, and that it should pay the arrears of labor remuneration to Yin and 10 others. In order to promote the substantive resolution of conflicts and disputes on the spot and reduce the litigation burden of the parties, this series of cases confirmed the amount of labor remuneration paid by a certain unit by means of the trial court's issuance of a payment order to a certain unit, "pre-litigation mediation + judicial confirmation", and litigation mediation.
Typical significance
The purpose of the law is to simplify the procedure and stabilize social and economic relations as soon as possible. The supervision procedure is specially used to resolve non-litigation cases where the debtor refuses to repay the debt without justifiable reasons when the creditor's rights and debts are clearly established. A payment order is an order made by the people's court at the request of the creditor in the supervision procedure requiring the debtor to pay a certain amount of money or negotiable securities to the creditor. If the debtor does not raise an objection within the statutory period, the payment order shall take effect and the creditor may apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement; In this case, the people's court gave full play to the advantages of simple and rapid supervision procedures, low mediation costs and good results through measures such as issuing payment orders and "pre-litigation mediation + judicial confirmation", and gave the mediation agreement legal enforcement effect with judicial confirmation, effectively safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers and meeting the diverse judicial needs of the people.
Case 4
The affiliated construction unit shall bear it
Liability for the settlement of unpaid wages resulting from "affiliation" construction
-- Lu v. Liu, a construction company, and a real estate company, a labor contract dispute
Basic facts of the case
Guo and others borrowed the qualifications of a construction company to sign a contract with a real estate company of the construction unit, stipulating that the real estate company would contract the civil engineering and installation works of the project involved in the case to a certain construction company. Mr. Liu signed a labor construction agreement with Mr. Guo and others in the name of a labor service company. Liu hired a migrant worker Lu to work on wall masonry. Liu issued an IOU of 8,120 yuan to Lu. Later, Liu paid Lu 3,000 yuan, a construction company paid Lu 1,012 yuan, and 4,108 yuan of wages were still owed. A real estate company has paid the project money to a construction company in accordance with the proportion agreed in the contract. Mr. Lu filed a lawsuit, requesting Mr. Liu and a construction company to jointly pay the arrears of wages, and a real estate company to bear the payment liability within the scope of the unpaid project payment.
Adjudication Results
The trial court held that a construction company was the construction unit involved in the case. Mr. Liu contracted part of the labor services, Mr. Lu was hired by Mr. Liu to provide labor services, and there was a labor contract relationship between Mr. Lu and Mr. Liu, and Mr. Liu should pay the wages owed to Mr. Lu of 4,108 yuan. According to the second paragraph of Article 36 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers, a construction company allowed Guo and others to contract construction projects in the name of the company, and should bear the responsibility for repaying the arrears of migrant worker Lu's wages. As a construction unit, a real estate company should not be liable for repayment if it contracted the project to a construction company and had paid the project price as agreed in the contract. Liu and a construction company were ordered to pay Lu the wages in arrears.
Typical significance
The Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulate in the form of a special chapter on arrears of wages in the field of engineering construction, providing special protection for migrant workers to receive wages on time and in full. Laws and regulations clearly stipulate that affiliation is prohibited in the field of engineering construction. The second paragraph of Article 36 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulates that: "If the construction unit allows other units and individuals to contract construction projects in the name of the construction unit, resulting in arrears in the wages of migrant workers, the construction unit shall pay off." "In this case, the people's court accurately applied the provisions of laws and regulations, and ordered the individual contracting the labor project and the affiliated construction unit to jointly bear the liability for repayment if the construction unit lent its qualifications to allow other units or individuals to contract the project in the name of the construction unit, resulting in arrears of wages for migrant workers, so as to avoid the parties passing the buck to each other and passing on the risk, which not only clarified the rules for determining the entity responsible for the repayment of the arrears of migrant workers' wages in the case of illegal affiliation, but also helped to force the construction unit to participate in construction activities in accordance with laws and regulations, and effectively standardize the construction of the project, labor and employment.
Case five
The employer shall agree with the employee on the change of wage payment method
——Yang v. a training center, a labor dispute case
Basic facts of the case
A training center paid wages to Yang through bank transfer, WeChat transfer or Alipay transfer. Later, a training center paid wages to Yang through a shopping platform, and Yang could only withdraw part of his salary from a shopping platform in proportion. Mr. Yang believed that a training center had violated the law by paying wages through a shopping platform without his consent and not paying wages in full, and applied for labor dispute arbitration. Later, Yang was dissatisfied with the arbitral award and filed a lawsuit demanding that a training center pay 14,981.76 yuan in wages that had not been paid in full.
Adjudication Results
The trial court held that in view of the fact that Yang's monthly take-home salary was lower than his due salary due to the payment of wages through a shopping platform, the training center should have reached an agreement with Yang on changing the wage payment method. Yang was unable to receive wages in full through a shopping platform, and had repeatedly indicated to a training center that he did not want to pay wages through a shopping platform, and the training center, as an employer, had the obligation to pay labor remuneration to the workers in full and in a timely manner, and ordered the training center to make up the difference in Yang's wages.
Typical significance
Employers have the legal obligation to pay wages to employees in full and on time. In recent years, along with economic and social development, some employers have chosen to pay wages through third-party software or online platforms, resulting in inconvenience for employees to withdraw wages, and even some expenses have been deducted, which objectively leads to a decrease in the income level of employees. As a relatively weak party in the labor relationship, the employee cannot choose the payment method of labor remuneration on his own. This case clarifies that the employer shall reach an agreement with the employee through consultation on the change of wage payment method, and shall not violate the mandatory legal provisions, and that if the employee's income is reduced due to the employer's reasons, the employer shall have the obligation to pay the arrears of wages, so as to guide the employer to exercise its operational autonomy in accordance with the law and fully safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the employee.
Case 6
Online overtime pay should be combined with the frequency and duration of overtime work.
Determination of wage standards, work content and other factors
-- Li v. a cultural media company, a labor dispute case
Basic facts of the case
Li joined a cultural media company in April 2020 as the director of short video operations, and the two parties signed a labor contract with a period from April 8, 2020 to April 7, 2023, agreeing on a three-month probationary period, and the salary standard during the probation period is 20,000 yuan per month. During his tenure from April 8, 2020 to May 28, 2020, Mr. Li completed the work of replying to the design plan and improving the plan during non-working hours. On May 28, 2020, a cultural media company terminated the labor relationship on the grounds that Li did not meet the employment conditions during the probationary period, and did not pay Li overtime pay. Mr. Li believed that a cultural media company had violated the law such as failing to pay overtime pay, and applied for labor dispute arbitration. Later, Li was dissatisfied with the arbitral award and filed a lawsuit demanding that a cultural media company pay 19,670.5 yuan for overtime and 26,331 yuan for overtime on weekends.
Adjudication Results
The trial court held that the amount of overtime pay should be determined based on the employee's position and work situation, the employer's business characteristics, and the remuneration payment standard. Because Li's work did not need to be completed in the employer's workplace, and the working hours were relatively scattered, it was difficult to quantify attendance and conduct scientific statistics, the trial court determined that a certain cultural media company should pay 10,000 yuan for overtime on the basis of the WeChat content submitted by Li, the company's attendance time and salary standards, and determined that Li had a three-day rest day based on the WeChat content, and ordered a cultural media company to pay 5,517.24 yuan in overtime wages on rest days.
Typical significance
"Online overtime" occurs during non-working hours and non-work locations, and the work arrangement and results submission have shifted from offline to online, which is characterized by home-based and fragmentation, which is different from overtime work in the traditional sense of the employer, and there are problems such as it is difficult for the employer to supervise and manage the employee in real time, and it is difficult for the employee to provide evidence to prove his overtime hours. In this case, when determining the overtime pay for "online overtime", the people's court determined the employee's overtime pay based on the employee's rest time for the labor provided, and comprehensively considered the employee's overtime frequency, duration, wage standard, work content and other factors, so as to protect the legitimate rights and interests of the employee in accordance with the law.
Case 7
Employers' payment of migrant workers' wages
The burden of proof is on them
-- Tang v. a construction labor service company, a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Basic facts of the case
Mr. Tang signed a written labor contract with a construction labor company, and the position was carpentry. Later, Tang was injured at work, which was recognized as a work-related injury and the disability rating was assessed. Due to a dispute between the two parties over the payment of Tang's wages in the month of his injury, Tang applied to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission for arbitration, demanding that a construction labor company pay his wages in the month of his injury.
Verdict
The Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission believes that Article 6 of the Law of the People's Republic of China on Labor Dispute Mediation and Arbitration stipulates that "in the event of a labor dispute, the parties have the responsibility to provide evidence for their own claims." Article 50 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulates that "if there is a dispute between a migrant worker and an employer over wage arrears, the employer shall provide the labor contract, employee roster, wage payment ledger and list and other materials kept by the employer in accordance with the law; if the employer fails to do so, it shall bear the adverse consequences in accordance with the law". Although a construction labor company asserted that Tang only worked for more than ten days in the month of his injury and had settled his wages, it did not provide corresponding evidence such as wage payment ledgers and lists, and should bear the adverse consequences of failing to provide evidence, so it determined that Tang was in full attendance in the month of his injury (the date of Tang's injury was the last day of the month), and ruled that the construction labor company should pay Tang more than 5,000 yuan in wages for the month of his injury according to the daily wage standard of Tang recognized by both parties.
Typical significance
The protection of the legitimate rights and interests of workers is one of the legislative purposes of the labor law of the mainland, and the actual situation of laborers, especially migrant workers, is insufficient to present evidence in the relevant provisions. In labor dispute cases, the wage payment ledger and list are an important basis for determining whether the employer has fulfilled its wage payment obligations in accordance with the law. Article 15 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulates that "an employer shall prepare a written wage payment ledger in accordance with the wage payment cycle and keep it for at least three years." The written wage payment ledger shall include the name of the employer, the payment period, the date of payment, the name of the payment recipient, ID card number, contact information, working hours, the items and amounts of wages to be paid, the items and amounts withheld, paid and deducted, the amount of actual wages, and the receipt of wages by the bank or the signature of the migrant workers. When an employer pays wages to migrant workers, it shall provide a list of the wages of the migrant workers themselves." Employers shall strictly implement the above-mentioned requirements, compile and keep a ledger and list of migrant workers' wages, and clearly record elements such as working hours, wage items and amounts, so as to avoid the adverse consequences of failing to provide evidence in the course of labor dispute arbitration and litigation.
Case 8
Evidence obtained by the Labor and Social Security Inspectorate in accordance with the law
It can be used as evidence in arbitration
——Lai v. a real estate company, a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Basic facts of the case
A real estate company owed Lai's wages, and the local labor and social security inspection brigade urged him to pay Lai's part of his wages through interviews with the person in charge of the company. Mr. Lai objected to the amount of wages to be paid and applied to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission for arbitration, demanding that a real estate company pay the rest of his wages.
Verdict
According to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission, Article 3 of the Regulations on Guaranteeing the Payment of Wages to Migrant Workers stipulates that "migrant workers have the right to receive wages on time and in full." No unit or individual may be in arrears with the wages of peasant workers." The Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission held a hearing and determined the amount of wages to be paid in combination with the investigation records of the Labor and Social Security Supervision Brigade, and ruled that a real estate company should pay Lai more than 5,000 yuan in wages.
Typical significance
Labor and social security supervision and arbitration of labor and personnel disputes are both statutory channels for employees to protect their rights. The strengthening of coordination and cooperation among the institutions performing their functions is of positive significance for giving full play to the advantages of labor security supervision and administrative law enforcement and the quasi-judicial role of labor and personnel dispute arbitration, improving the convenience of migrant workers to protect their rights, and resolving the problem of difficulty in seeking wages. The Notice on Implementing the "Wage Protection" Action and Making Every Effort to Handle Disputes over Arrears of Migrant Workers' Wages (Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security [2019] No. 80) jointly issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security and the Supreme People's Court and other five departments stipulates that "according to the characteristics and advantages of labor dispute arbitration and labor security supervision duties, and in accordance with the principle of being conducive to the timely and effective protection of the legitimate rights and interests of migrant workers, guide migrant workers to rationally choose ways to protect their rights in accordance with the law." The Notice of the General Office of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security on Launching a Special Action for the Construction of an Expedited Tribunal for Migrant Workers' Wage Disputes (Ren She Ting Han [2023] No. 69) stipulates that "the expedited tribunal shall recognize the facts that have been determined by the administrative handling opinions of the labor and social security supervision bodies, unless the parties have applied for administrative reconsideration or filed an administrative lawsuit" , which puts forward clear requirements for promoting the construction of the linkage working mechanism of the two institutions. Labor and social security supervision bodies at all levels and arbitration bodies for labor and personnel disputes should be based on their functions and responsibilities, and continue to innovate linkage models based on the needs of migrant workers to protect their rights and the needs of case-handling practice, so as to better protect the rights and interests of migrant workers in labor remuneration.
Case 9
Give full play to the role of multiple handling mechanisms to resolve collective labor disputes
——Li and 48 others sued a manufacturing company for a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Basic facts of the case
Due to business difficulties, a manufacturing company owed wages to 48 workers including Li, and negotiated with some workers to terminate the labor contract, which led to the intensification of the conflict between the two parties. Mr. Li and others applied to the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission for arbitration, demanding that a manufacturing company pay wages and economic compensation.
Process the results
Based on their statutory functions, the labor and personnel dispute arbitration commission, courts, trade unions, judicial, petition and other departments where the case is located shall establish a "five-party joint investigation mechanism" to carry out the prevention and resolution of conflicts and disputes on a regular basis. The District Federation of Trade Unions solicited the opinions of workers, coordinated the provision of a number of matching jobs, and took the lead in facilitating the withdrawal of 12 applicants. The Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission adheres to the principle of giving priority to mediation, and has conducted several rounds of communication with both parties to resolve doubts and doubts about the focus of the dispute, while the Bureau of Justice has appointed lawyers to participate in mediation to understand the needs of workers and provide professional advice. In the end, 32 workers signed a mediation agreement with a manufacturing company, the labor and personnel dispute arbitration committee made a mediation letter on the spot, and the manufacturing company paid wages and economic compensation totaling more than 1.83 million yuan on the spot. For the four workers who have not signed a mediation agreement, the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission has opened a "green channel" for the expedited adjudication of migrant workers' wage disputes, so as to protect their legitimate rights and interests in a timely and effective manner.
Typical significance
Collective labor disputes involve a large number of workers and have a large social impact, and the effect of handling them is directly related to the harmony of labor relations and social stability. In recent years, all localities have actively explored and continuously improved the mechanism for handling labor disputes under the leadership of party committees, the government is responsible, the human resources and social security departments take the lead and relevant departments participate, and judicial safeguards and science and technology support are used to give full play to the advantages of departments and form a joint force for mediation. Through the multiple handling mechanism of labor disputes, all departments understand the demands and problems of the parties in the first time, reduce repetitive communication and departmental connections, and play a positive role in preventing and resolving labor relations risks and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of employees, and promote the rapid and flexible resolution of conflicts and disputes.
Case 10
The trade union actively coordinated with the procuratorate to support the prosecution and help workers protect their rights
-- Niu and 14 others sued a catering company for a dispute over recourse to labor remuneration
Basic facts of the case
Niu and 14 others are all migrant workers who worked in a catering company around January 2021. In May 2021, after the closure of a catering company, the labor remuneration of Niu and others was not settled. In September of the same year, Niu and others sought help from the Federation of Trade Unions in the district where a catering company was located. The District Federation of Trade Unions appoints legal aid lawyers to provide legal aid and initiate labor dispute arbitration on behalf of the District Federation of Trade Unions. Because the main evidence is electronic evidence, the source and authenticity are difficult to fix, and the claims of Niu and others were not supported by the Labor and Personnel Dispute Arbitration Commission. After assessing the facts of the case, the District Federation of Trade Unions believed that the laborer's lack of ability to present evidence led to the defeat of the case, and it was difficult to rely solely on the trade union's rights protection lawyer to investigate and collect evidence, so it actively coordinated with the procuratorate to initiate a civil support prosecution mechanism.
Process the results
The procuratorate, together with the district federation of trade unions, will jointly go to the company that retains the electronic evidence to investigate and collect evidence, and verify the authenticity of the key evidence in the case. After obtaining key evidence and fixing the evidence, the procuratorate issues a letter of support for the indictment to the trial court, and the evidence obtained in support of the prosecution investigation is submitted to the trial court along with the supporting indictment. Because the key evidence was verified and fixed, the trial court ruled in favor of Niu and others' claims.
Typical significance
As a vulnerable group, workers often face problems such as insufficient awareness of their own rights protection and weak ability to collect evidence. Trade unions have the functions of carrying out labor law supervision in accordance with the law and providing legal aid to workers. In this case, after receiving the employee's request for help, the trade union immediately assigned a legal aid lawyer to provide legal aid to help the employee recover labor compensation. When faced with the difficulty of collecting evidence, the trade union actively coordinated, launched the "trade union + procuratorate" collaborative working mechanism for the protection of employees' labor rights and interests, and contacted the procuratorate to support the prosecution. The procuratorate exercises the power of investigation and verification to assist the worker in collecting and fixing evidence, and submits opinions in support of the prosecution. The legitimate rights and interests of workers have been fully protected through the organic linkage of legal aid for trade union employees, labor law supervision, and procuratorial organs to support prosecution in accordance with the law.
Case 11
Multi-departmental coordination to resolve wage arrears disputes
-- Xiao and other 9 migrant workers in a dispute over arrears of wages
Basic facts of the case
A decoration company signed a contract with a decoration company for an engineering construction and decoration project. A decoration company hired a number of migrant workers to carry out construction, and later owed Xiao and 9 other migrant workers wages due to capital turnover problems. Xiao and others, as representatives, went to the integrated legal service base for employees in a town to report problems and ask for help.
Process the results
In accordance with the division of responsibilities of the department of the integrated base for employees' legal services, after the labor law supervision committee of the town federation of trade unions accepted the case, it launched the "Fengqiao in the park" mechanism, and immediately reported the case situation of the town government, judicial office, labor security office, and people's mediation committee. Subsequently, the Labor Law Supervision Committee of the Town Federation of Trade Unions appointed the labor law supervisors of the trade union to investigate and collect evidence on the situation reported by the migrant workers, verify the relevant situation, and issued a "Labor Union Labor Law Supervision Reminder Letter" to a decoration company, reminding it to comply with labor laws and regulations. The town federation of trade unions, together with the town judicial office, the labor and social security office, and the people's mediation committee, organized negotiations between the relevant parties for many times, and finally prompted the parties to reach a settlement, and the migrant workers have received their wages.
Typical significance
Based on the establishment of employee legal aid rooms, mediation studios, labor dispute arbitration tribunals, labor courts, etc., the integrated base of employee legal services brings together the functions and roles of mediation, legal aid, arbitration, litigation and other departments of trade unions, courts, judicial administration, human resources and social security, etc., and mainly provides "integrated and one-stop" legal services for employees. The base solves the problems of single channel for resolving contradictions and disputes in the past, which is conducive to resolving contradictions and disputes nearby and quickly. Local trade unions have joined forces with multiple departments to jointly promote the construction of an integrated base for legal services for employees, create a "park Fengqiao" mechanism in the field of labor relations, and strive to ensure that "small matters do not leave the enterprise, major matters do not leave the park, and conflicts do not turn in", so as to resolve labor disputes at the grassroots level and solve them in the bud. In this case, the integrated base of employee legal services launched the "Fengqiao Park" mechanism in a timely manner, and the labor union issued a "Reminder Letter for Labor Law Supervision of the Trade Union" to the enterprise in a timely manner, guiding the parties to know, use and abide by the law, actively fulfill their legal responsibilities, and timely recover the arrears of wages for the migrant workers through mediation, thus achieving a substantive resolution of the dispute.
Case XII
"Court + trade union" litigation and mediation docking to promote the substantive resolution of contradictions and disputes
-- Yan and 11 other migrant workers in a dispute over unpaid wages
Basic facts of the case
Yan and 11 other migrant workers undertook the paint work in the maintenance and renovation project of the contractor Shang. After the completion of the project, Shang owed Yan and others more than 60,000 yuan in wages. Yan and others repeatedly asked Shang to pay his wages, but Shang refused to pay for various reasons. Yan and others went to a county's "court + trade union" litigation and mediation studio to ask for help.
Process the results
After the trade union mediator learned that Shang had been detained by the people's court for not performing the judgment of other cases, he immediately communicated with the people's court and prompted Shang to issue a repayment plan for the case to the people's court. After mediation by the trade union mediator, Yan and other 8 migrant workers reached an agreement with Shang on the spot and signed. Because the other three migrant workers were in other places, the trade union mediator organized the parties to mediate and reach an agreement through the court's online mediation platform. After the mediation agreement is reached, the people's court shall promptly make judicial confirmation of the mediation agreement. At present, the mediation agreement has been fulfilled.
Typical significance
Trade unions fully perform the function of resolving conflicts and disputes in labor relations, and work with the people's courts to actively create a coordinated, linked, convenient and efficient "court + trade union" litigation and mediation docking model, effectively realizing one-stop acceptance, package mediation, and full-chain resolution. The people's courts have strengthened the establishment of information platforms, carrying out online consultation, diversion, mediation, feedback, and judicial confirmation of conflicts and disputes, ensuring the smooth online circulation of cases and the exchange and sharing of information and data. In this case, the local trade union gave full play to its organizational advantages, listened carefully to the opinions and demands of the workers, found the "entry point" for resolving disputes, and relied on the court mediation platform to settle the case through offline and online mediation, fully demonstrating the advantages of the "court + trade union" litigation and mediation docking to quickly and conveniently facilitate the people, solve the troubles of recovering arrears of wages for migrant workers, and make the people's sense of happiness and gain more real and fulfilling.
Case XIII
Give full play to the function of the 12351 hotline to safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of workers
-- A dispute over arrears of wages by a contractor of a real estate project
Basic facts of the case
The 12351 service hotline of a provincial federation of trade unions received a call from Chen, saying that more than 30 people were in arrears at the construction site of a real estate project, and hoped that the trade union would intervene in coordination and follow-up to assist employees in recovering the arrears of wages. The 12351 employee hotline platform distributes work orders to the local trade unions in a timely manner and requires them to be handled within a time limit.
Process the results
After investigation and verification by the Federation of Trade Unions of the town where the enterprise involved is located, a construction company of the contractor of the real estate project owed the wages of more than 100 engineering decoration workers. After negotiation between the town federation of trade unions, human resources and social security, comprehensive management office, public security, community trade union and other departments and a construction company and workers, a construction company paid the wages of 120 workers on the same day. The town federation of trade unions, the housing and construction department and other departments jointly coordinated the follow-up arrears of wages and rights protection, and a construction company paid all the remaining wages.
Typical significance
The 12351 service hotline is an important channel for employees to protect their legitimate rights and interests. The 12351 employee hotline platform implements unified answering of calls from the province, classified answers by lawyers and customer services, and step-by-step assignment of work orders, providing employees with 24×7 hours of service all year round. After the employee puts forward the demand to the 12351 employee hotline platform, the platform will distribute it to the organizer through the work order system, and it will sign for and handle it. The handling of work orders and the reporting of results abide by the principles of "territorial management, hierarchical responsibility, who is in charge and who is responsible", and "combination of lawful, timely and on-the-spot problem solving and guidance and education". The organizer arranges a special person to coordinate and handle the work order, complete it within the specified time limit, and implement a return visit system to ensure that the employees' demands are responded to in a timely manner. In this case, after receiving the complaint and report, the 12351 service hotline promptly handed over the local trade union for investigation and verification. Local trade unions coordinate with relevant departments to work together to do a good job in the negotiation and mediation of labor disputes, give play to the role of multi-departmental linkage mechanisms, protect the legitimate rights and interests of employees in a timely manner in accordance with the law, and maintain social harmony and stability.
Source: Information Bureau of the Supreme People's Court