More than 230 migrant workers whose wages have been overdue for over 2 years have not been resolved, and a key project in Fuzhou has been abandoned

Recently, the leaders of Fujian Youfeng Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. and Fujian Jianghongshan Construction Engineering Co., Ltd. reported to People's Daily that the "Intelligent Light and Shadow Innovation Industry Base" in Fuzhou High tech Zone has been suspended for 2 years, with a arrears of 51 million yuan in project payments, including more than 230 migrant workers, totaling 4 million yuan.

To verify the facts, a reporter from People's Daily went to Fuzhou High tech Zone to inquire about the situation.

More than 230 migrant workers with 4 million yuan in wages delayed for 2 years

Traveling south along Gaoxin Avenue, passing through Phase 3 of the Innovation Park, the two suspended reinforced concrete buildings on the right side of the road are quite eye-catching. This is where the Light and Shadow Base project is located.

The construction site of the Light and Shadow Base project. Photo by Zhang Zijian, a journalist from People's Daily Online

According to the heads of Youfeng and Jianghongshan companies, in 2018, Shenzhen Zhongying Era Technology Co., Ltd. landed in Fuzhou High tech Zone through investment attraction and established Fujian Zhongying Era Technology Co., Ltd. to invest in the construction of a light and shadow base project. This project was once listed as a key project in Fuzhou City and started construction in early May 2020. It is planned to build four buildings, with Youfeng Company as the contractor and Jianghongshan Company responsible for engineering labor dispatch.

"On the left side is Building 5, which has 4 floors and is currently capped; on the right side is Building 1, which stopped construction until the 2nd floor, and then Building 2 and 3, both of which have only completed their basements." Standing in front of the two buildings that have already been built on the ground, the person in charge of Jiang Hongshan Company explained.

The construction contract for the light and shadow base project shows that the investor and contractor signed a contract on April 30, 2020, with a total project cost of 180 million yuan and a construction period of 650 days. "Construction started in early May of that year, and on April 7th of the following year, all the basement parts were completed." The person in charge of Youfeng Company said that according to the agreement, the contractor funded the construction until the basements of four buildings were completed. After that, when the ground parts were constructed, the investor began to pay the project funds according to the construction progress.

"Zhongying Company has always claimed that 'there is no money, we are financing'." The person in charge of Youfeng Company said that until July 2021, 'we are no longer able to advance funds for construction, so we have to choose to stop work.' "

A staff member from a certain department of the district management committee revealed that as long as the planned investment is more than 100 million yuan, it can be tracked as a key project in the city, and the total planned investment for the light and shadow base project at the time of filing is 1.2 billion yuan. After the project was suspended, the government removed it from the list of key projects in the city.

The person in charge of Jianghongshan Company introduced the project situation. Photo by Zhang Zijian, a journalist from People's Daily Online

The suspension of key projects in the city has attracted high attention from Fuzhou High tech Zone. The heads of the two companies said that the relevant leaders of the High tech Zone Management Committee have coordinated multiple times to solve the problem of unpaid wages for migrant workers. However, from April 2021 until now, Fujian Zhongying Company has only paid 10 million yuan in project payments, including the wages of migrant workers, and the 4 million yuan wages of more than 230 migrant workers have not been settled.

How did the chairman of Zhongying Company, who carries the ultimate execution case, land on the ground

After the project was suspended, the two companies discovered some suspicious aspects of the Zhongying Company and the Light and Shadow Base project.

"Zhang Moujia, the chairman of Zhongying Company when it landed in the High tech Zone, was already involved in the final execution case as early as 2016." The person in charge of Jianghongshan Company said, "From 2018 to 2019, the People's Court of Shaxian County and the Intermediate People's Court of Fuzhou City successively issued consumption restriction orders against it."

Public information shows that Shenzhen Zhongying Company was established on June 7, 2016, with a registered capital of 20 million yuan. Its general business projects include the development and sales of software and hardware technologies for projection equipment and mobile wireless data terminals. The company's annual report shows that the number of social security contributors was 15 in 2016, with a maximum of 62 in 2018. In 2019, it decreased to 17, and since 2020, it has been 0.

As a result, the executives of the two companies questioned how Zhongying Company passed the investment promotion review, as the chairman was responsible for the final execution case and was repeatedly restricted in height?

The equipment of Zhongying Company placed within the Light and Shadow Base project. Photo by Zhang Zijian, a journalist from People's Daily Online

According to the "Investor Change Record of Shenzhen Zhongying Era Technology Co., Ltd." provided by the Party and Mass Work Department of the High tech Zone Management Committee, Zhang Moumei contributed 75% of the shares in November 2017, 65% in November 2020, and was the "person in charge" in April 2021, while withdrawing 65% of the shares.

The staff member stated that the person in charge of Zhongying Company is Zhang Moumei rather than Zhang Moujia, and the investment promotion review is only aimed at legal persons and not other personnel.

Although Zhang Moujia is not currently listed in the shareholder information of Shenzhen Zhongying Company and Fujian Zhongying Company, a reporter from People's Daily found a report titled "Shenzhen Intelligent Imaging Industry's" Black Horse "officially settled in the High tech Zone!" published in 2018 on the website of the Fuzhou High tech Zone Management Committee, which showed that Zhang Moujia is the Chairman of Zhongying Era. According to a query on the National Enterprise Credit Information Publicity System, in July 2020, the Chairman of Shenzhen Zhongying Company was changed from Zhang Moujia to Zhang Moumei.

Can the chairman of the board of directors be introduced as a key project for enterprises that are responsible for the final execution of cases and have been restricted in height? Is it necessary to investigate the actual controller and management of the enterprise when reviewing the introduction project?

Lawyer Shi Zhenjie, a partner of Fujian Strategy Law Firm, believes that it is necessary for the High tech Zone Management Committee to conduct due diligence on the attracting enterprises during the investment process, review whether they operate legally and compliantly, and whether they comply with national industrial policies. Although laws and regulations do not explicitly prohibit the chairman of a company from being a target of investment attraction for companies with "high consumption restrictions", being restricted in height by the chairman of a company will have a significant negative impact on the legal and compliant operation of the company. As a party for attracting investment, it is not only necessary to conduct due diligence in advance, but also to conduct comprehensive inspections and process supervision of the enterprises entering the area, fully utilize legal and administrative means to control the threshold for attracting investment, and ensure the healthy and stable development of the enterprises entering the area.

So, why did Fuzhou High tech Zone introduce Zhongying Company, whose chairman is responsible for the final execution case and has been "restricted in height"? A staff member who participated in the research work of the High tech Zone Management Committee said that before introducing this enterprise, the management committee organized staff to conduct research on the enterprise in Shenzhen, and its main technology is mobile phone projection. "About three years ago, I thought it was more advanced."

What was the specific situation of Zhongying Company landing in the high-tech zone at that time? How to solve the problem of salary arrears during the shutdown of the Light and Shadow Base project? People's Daily reporters have made multiple attempts to contact Zhang Moujia, but he has not responded.

Who will safeguard the legitimate rights of migrant workers?

How to solve the problem of over 230 migrant workers being owed wages?

A staff member from the Party and Mass Work Department of the High tech Zone Management Committee stated that in mid May, the Natural Resources and Planning Bureau of the High tech Zone had held talks with Zhongying Company and will continue to track project progress in the future; In terms of salary arrears, the staff member stated that the human resources and social security department stated that the previous issue of salary arrears has been resolved, and there have been no complaints from migrant workers. If they receive relevant feedback, they will further assist in recovering it and consider using the remaining 500000 project deposit for the project.

The person in charge of Jianghongshan Company objected to this, stating that the problem has not been resolved, and it is not that there have been no complaints from migrant workers. He stated that during the period from 2021 to 2022, migrant workers had reported wage arrears to departments such as the High tech Zone Petition Bureau and the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau more than ten times, but the issue of wage arrears has not been resolved to this day.

Since the issue of salary arrears has not been resolved yet, why does the human resources and social security department of the High tech Zone claim that the problem of salary arrears has been resolved?

On the afternoon of January 5th this year, the Office of the Leading Group for Eliminating Wage Arrears of Migrant Workers in the High tech Zone organized a "Symposium on Eliminating Wage Arrears in the Light and Shadow Base Project". Representatives from the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau and Construction Bureau of the High tech Zone, construction units, labor units, and team leaders attended the meeting, with the agenda of "coordinating the issue of wage arrears of migrant workers in the era of win-win projects".

"At the meeting, it was said that it would be resolved immediately after the Spring Festival, but it was not resolved after the holiday," said the person in charge of Jiang Hongshan Company.

The rendering of the light and shadow base. Remake by Zhang Zijian, a journalist from People's Daily Online

Article 42 and Article 63 of the Regulations on Ensuring the Payment of Wages for Migrant Workers stipulate that if the administrative department of human resources and social security makes a decision to order the payment of wages owed to migrant workers, and the relevant unit fails to pay, it may apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law; If an employer finds it difficult to pay the wages owed to migrant workers or if the wages owed to migrant workers are evaded, the local people's government at or above the county level may use emergency turnover funds to advance payment of part of the wages or basic living expenses owed by the employer to migrant workers.

Lawyer Zhang Lijun from Fujian Licheng Law Firm stated that after accepting the salary demands of migrant workers in the High tech Zone, if the investigation finds that the problem of wage arrears is true, the human resources and social security department should issue a labor security supervision administrative processing decision to Zhongying Company and make it public. If Zhongying Company is unable to pay or has been in arrears with the wages of migrant workers for a long time, the human resources and social security department can apply to the people's court for compulsory enforcement in accordance with the law. If the human resources and social security department fails to issue a decision and subsequently fails to apply for compulsory execution in accordance with the law, it constitutes administrative inaction. In addition, unpaid migrant workers can also apply to the human resources and social security department in accordance with the law to use emergency turnover funds to advance their salaries.

Lawyer Ye Qingping from Fujian Yuanyi Law Firm believes that according to the land transfer contract between both parties, if Zhongying Company fails to complete the project on time, the local government can hold it responsible for breach of contract. At the same time, if Zhongying Company did have problems with its ability to fulfill its obligations before settling in the high-tech zone, relevant departments can hold accountable for the lax review at that time.

Lawyer Liu Shanli, a partner of Fujian Jianda Law Firm, suggests that the contractor and other entities can claim rights from Zhongying Company in accordance with the law. If Zhongying Company is unable to repay the debt and cannot fulfill the effective judgment and ruling after winning the lawsuit, it can try to apply for the company to enter bankruptcy and reorganization proceedings. At the same time, relevant creditors and regulatory authorities can strive to work together to revitalize projects, such as introducing new investors and investment funds, in order to solve the current difficulties faced by all parties and promote local economic development.

As of the time of publication, relevant functional departments such as human resources, social security, construction, and commerce of the High tech Zone Management Committee have not responded positively to various questions. At the end of June, staff from the Party and Mass Work Department of the High tech Zone told reporters that the Construction Bureau will organize a meeting to negotiate and solve the problem. And to this day, this meeting has never been held. The explanation given by the above staff is that the person in charge of Zhongying Company has been in Shanghai all along.

Who will safeguard the legitimate rights of over 230 migrant workers? How to deal with this suspended project? People's Daily reporters will follow up on the report.