A group of 117 migrant workers from central China's Henan Province who were "trapped" in Russia, doing heavy manual work while not being paid, are returning home after the Chinese embassy intervened.

The first 29 workers have already received their overdue wages - more than 20,000 yuan (US$3,138) - and returned to China on Saturday. The remaining 88 are due to return soon.

One worker, Wang Zhijun, called Henan TV Station several days ago, saying that he and fellow workers from Zhoukou City were trapped in Novosibirsk in Siberia, as they were being treated badly and their wages not paid.

Wang said they were sent out to Russia by Yangguang Training School in Zhoukou around four months ago.

They worked 12 hours a day and received very poor meals, said Wang.

A representative of the school, Qiu Zengxin, said the workers had signed contracts with a Russian construction company, and it was difficult to guarantee their rights because they were abroad.

Wang said that they could no longer bear the cold weather, the heavy work and poor food and had asked their boss to pay their wages and let them return home.

However, the manager only agreed to pay them for one month. When they took to the streets in protest, the workers were stopped by police.

Henan TV Station informed the Chinese embassy, which was told it would take 10 days to sort out the wages.

But during this period workers claimed their boss started to restrict their freedom and reduce food supplies.

The embassy intervened and the men received their wages from their employer.