China has recovered more than 10 billion yuan ($1.65 billion) of unpaid wages for its migrant workers in the last two months, officials said on Friday, underscoring a persistent problem that often leaves workers empty-handed before a key annual holiday.
Many migrants only return home once a year for the lunar new year, which falls on January 31 this year. Gift-giving, including cash in red envelopes, is an important tradition, and theft spikes each year in the run-up to the holiday.
The campaign returned 10.9 billion yuan in unpaid wages to more than 1.5 million workers across China, Li Zhong, spokesman of the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, told a news conference.
via China retrieves $1.6 billion for migrant workers ahead of Lunar New Year | Reuters.
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