The Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) held a symposium on addressing wage arrears and safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of workers on July 30.
Shi Weizhong, Deputy Prosecutor General of the SPP, attended the symposium and delivered a speech. He stressed that ensuring wage payment for migrant workers should be regarded as a key livelihood task that addresses the public's most pressing concerns, and that continuous efforts should be made to advance livelihood projects related to employment promotion and the protection of workers.
Shi underscored the need for targeted measures to tackle wage arrears and improve the quality and efficiency of law-based governance in this area.
He called for strengthening inter-departmental coordination and improving collaboration mechanisms to safeguard workers' legitimate rights and interests.
He also emphasized the importance of ensuring accessible channels for law-based rights protection, and improving the mechanisms for inter-agency information exchange and regular consultation. While crimes of malicious wage arrears should be strictly punished in accordance with the law, Shi advocated strengthening the mutual transference between administrative and criminal justice, and further improving the linkage between labor and social security inspection administrative law enforcement and criminal justice.
Shi called for joint special campaigns to deepen collaboration under the "one letter, two documents" system, which integrates procuratorates' legal supervision with trade union oversight of labor law enforcement, in order to promote the substantive resolution of conflicts and disputes.
He also urged targeted assistance for disadvantaged workers, including proactive coordination with judicial administrative departments to secure legal aid for migrant workers whose wages have been withheld. Moreover, procuratorial support for civil litigation should be steadily advanced in accordance with the law, he said, to provide judicial safeguards for migrant workers who encounter obstacles in recovering their earnings.
Leading officials from relevant departments of the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, and the All-China Federation of Trade Unions attended the symposium.
