Guangzhou's government will blacklist the companies that owe back wages or illegally force workers to work overtime, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

The city government will take several measures to deal with the sweatshops and protect workers' rights, including setting up a hotline to receive complaints about unpaid wages and a work force to investigate back wages, said Liao Xiangda, an official in charge of labor rights supervision.

Two Guangzhou companies were on the province's sweatshop blacklist that was publicized in September, including the clothing manufacturer Hanlin of Zengcheng District and the Huakang Company of Liwan District. Huakang owed 500,000 yuan (US$61,652) in back wages from February to July. After it was made public, China Insurance Regulatory Commission declined its request to set up an insurance company.

An earlier survey of 6,000 private companies in Guangzhou found that at least 15 percent of them owed wages to workers. The back wages have caused social unrest as well as a loss of skilled workers.

Back wages caused at least 26 riots in November in Guangzhou.

Nearly 30 percent of the companies that claim to have a labor shortage have back wage records, according to Wang Guanyu, director of Guangdong career service center.

Workers are expecting higher wages, but nearly 30 percent of the enterprises investigated have no plan to increase wages.

Twelve of the 20 companies blacklisted by the provincial authorities have paid the back wages. Ten provincial government departments have jointly launched an action to deal with companies that owe wages.

According to a new rule governing payrolls which took effect May 1 this year, employers who fail to pay wages and try to avoid detection could be prosecuted by public security bureaus.

The rule stipulates that workers and their employers should specify wages and working hours, including overtime work. The pay levels must not be less than the minimum wages required by local governments.

The registered number of migrant workers in the province is 21.3 million, one-third of China's total migrant population.

(Shenzhen Daily December 13, 2005)