农民工春节前遭拖欠工资 老板发砖抵薪水

Employees at a brick factory in southeast China who were collectively owed some 90,000 yuan had their unpaid wages topped up in bricks, it’s reported.

据报道，中国东南部一家砖厂的农民工共计被拖欠了9万元人民币的未付工资，工厂负责人用砖头作补偿。

According to the Xinhua News Agency, some 30 factory workers in Nanchang, Jiangxi province, agreed to receive 290,000 bricks in exchange for 80,000 yuan of their owed earnings.

据新华社报道，江西南昌的约30名工人同意拿29万块砖，以代替8万元欠款。

Jiangxi Daily reports that the workers, all of whom were migrants, came from mountainous regions of Yunnan province in the southwest, and had no choice but to live "by candlelight, with wood fire heating".

据《江西日报》报道，这些工人都是外来务工人员，他们来自西南的云南省山区，别无选择，只能靠“烛光度日，木柴生火”。

After their local labour department intervened with the help of the courts, the employees agreed to receive bricks from the factory in exchange for their unpaid earnings.

当地劳动部门在法院的帮助下进行干预后，员工同意从工厂收取砖块，以代替未支付的收入。

Xinhua says that their employer, who has not been named by local media, is still trying to figure out a way to repay staff the remaining 10,000 yuan that they are owed.

新华社说，他们的雇主没有被当地媒体命名，他们仍然在试图想办法来偿还工作人员余下的1万元钱。

The story has ignited lively debate on Chinese social media, with many users of the Sina Weibo microblog expressing concern. "Why is it always rural migrant workers that are paid in arrears?" asks one.

这个故事引发了中国社交媒体的热烈讨论，许多新浪微博用户对此表示担忧。 “为什么总是拖欠农民工工资？”一位网友问到。

Others make jokes at the expense of China’s housing bubble, saying that the situation has become so bad that bricks constitute a decent substitute for finances.

其他人则以牺牲中国房地产泡沫为代价开玩笑，说这种情况已经变得如此糟糕，以至于砖块成为财政的一个体面的替代品。

Disputes between migrant workers and their employers are particularly common during the winter months, especially in the lead-up to Chinese New Year, which this year falls on 16 February.

农民工和雇主之间的纠纷在冬季特别常见，特别是在春节（今年2月16日）前。

The All-China Federation of Trade Unions says that it has helped more than five million migrant workers in China receive unpaid wages totalling 30bn yuan in the last five years.

中华全国总工会表示，过去五年来，工会帮助中国五百多万农民工获得拖欠工资总额达到300亿元人民币。