"The evidence in our hands is a mess, and even we ourselves can’t figure out which company we work for."
The problem of migrant workers seeking salaries for the elderly remains to be solved
Reading tips
At the end of the year, the issue of wage arrears has once again become the focus of social attention.
Although the salary-seeking case itself is not complicated, it is often rejected by the court or lost because of insufficient evidence.
The lawyer pointed out that this is also a common problem in many pay-asking cases, and it is still necessary to work together to solve this problem.
The lawyer reminded migrant workers that when a company owes wages due to poor business performance, it is necessary to keep evidence, stop losses as soon as possible, and safeguard rights and interests in a timely manner.
"The evidence in hand is a mess, and even we ourselves can’t figure out which company we are working for. Without the full assistance of the lawyers of the Jilin Provincial Federation of Trade Unions, the wages would definitely not be returned!" With the joint efforts of the labor union lawyers and the court, they finally reached a mediation with the labor enterprise and got all the back wages back.
At the end of the year, the issue of wage arrears has once again become the focus of social attention.
Some companies do not sign labor contracts, workers do not pay attention to retaining evidence when they work, and they do not know how to obtain evidence when labor disputes occur. All of these have caused many difficulties for migrant workers in seeking wages.
As a labor union lawyer, Wang Yuqi handled 54 cases of migrant workers asking for wages in 2020, and more than 90% of them were difficult to prove.
Realizing the clearing of migrant workers' wage arrears cases is a long way to go.
There is too little evidence, the curve is solved, and the victory is narrow!
Due to the failure to provide the corresponding evidence within the specified time, Wu Xin and the workers' demands for wages were eventually rejected by the Arbitration Commission.
With this notice of inadmissibility, several migrant workers were at a loss.
In September 2017, Wu Xin and others joined a technology company as a polishing operator. At that time, the two parties did not sign a labor contract, but verbally agreed that the monthly salary was 2,400 yuan.
Starting from April 2018, the boss began to default on wages due to financial difficulties.
In June of that year, Wu Xin and others resigned and used WeChat several times to ask the boss for a two-month arrears of 4,800 yuan.
In desperation, in December 2019, several people filed for labor arbitration, demanding that the company pay arrears of wages and economic compensation.
"The Arbitration Commission asked us to submit evidence, but we don't know how to do it. It's because the child found out the information on the legal aid provided by the Jilin Provincial Federation of Trade Unions on the Internet, so there is hope for the salary." Wu Xin said.
"At that time, they had only chat records of asking for salary from the company boss through WeChat, and because of the various forms of salary payment, the salary bank flow they provided could only confirm the existence of the labor relationship, and could not confirm whether or not the default and the specific amount of arrears." The lawyer of the Federation of Trade Unions Wang Yuqi said that the case itself is not complicated, but the evidence is insufficient. This is also a common problem in many migrant workers' wage-giving cases.
With insufficient evidence, the lawsuit is likely to be rejected or lost by the court.
Based on case handling experience, lawyer Wang Yuqi finally got a detailed list and amount of arrears of wages stamped by the company after several setbacks.
However, at this time, because Wu Xin and others did not understand the law, the request for double wages had exceeded the statute of limitations.
Affected by the epidemic, the case was postponed for a few months before the trial was allowed.
In order to get back the arrears as soon as possible, Wu Xin and the workers expressed that they could give up the economic compensation. After Wang Yuqi’s repeated interpretation and communication, after court trial and cross-examination, the enterprise and the migrant workers finally reached a settlement and agreed on May 1, 2020. Pay back wages a few days ago.
"Difficult to produce evidence" is common, and some even fail to ask for salary
In July 2020, when the dust on the salary claim finally settled, only 5 of the original 12 workers persisted.
"Evidence collection is too difficult and the wait is too long. If there were no union lawyers, we might have given up long ago." Li Wenjing said.
Li Wenjing and his colleagues have worked in a company for nearly 6 years and have never signed a labor contract with the company.
In July 2017, the company began intermittently in arrears of wages. As of October 2019, it had been in arrears of wages for 12 months, with 32,211 yuan in arrears per person.
"If we owe so much money and didn't give it, the boss told us to continue to work. If we quit, the company gave us a holiday, saying that when we have money and the salary is settled, we will be notified to go to work. This wait until the year. Bottom." Li Wenjing said.
"The company has two companies under the legal person name. They work in one location. The leadership team and financial personnel are mixed. When several migrant workers apply for legal aid to the provincial chief, they don't even know which unit they work in." Wang Yuqi Say.
Because the evidence needs to be strengthened, the key is to prove that the two parties have a labor relationship. With the consent of the parties, lawyer Wang Yuqi looked through the various chat software and check-in records in their mobile phones, and after careful sorting out, a complete chain of evidence was formed.
After the labor arbitration, the case entered the litigation stage, but as soon as Wang Yuqi sorted out the complaint, four migrant workers gave up, and then three others said they could not sign on the scene because they had to take care of their children.
After several setbacks, in the end, with the joint efforts of lawyers and judges, the employer and the five migrant workers reached a mediation, and the payment of the outstanding wages was completed in July.
"Not all parties are so lucky." Wang Yuqi told reporters that in another case of migrant workers' wages arrears, the parties only had screenshots of the voice and chat with the leader of the employer, and the mobile phone was accidentally lost and could not be checked during the court session. The original document was unable to provide evidence, which eventually led to the loss of the case.
How to solve the problem better requires a concerted effort
In 2020, Wang Yuqi handled 54 cases of migrant workers asking for wages, of which more than 90% had difficulties in producing evidence.
“Some migrant workers not only did not sign a labor contract with the employer, but also lack evidence of wages. If the employer does not appear in court during the court session, some evidence cannot be judged as authentic. In some cases where the facts cannot be ascertained, according to who claims Based on the principle of proof, the court can only decide to reject the litigation request, and when there is new evidence, when can the lawsuit be brought again.” Wang Yuqi said.
Wang Yuqi told reporters that in cases where the two parties have not signed a labor contract, the WeChat chat records and wage bank records can generally prove that the two parties have a labor relationship, and the specific amount of wages arrears should be presented in court by the employer. If the proof is not possible , The employer shall bear the adverse consequences.
However, in judicial practice, it is often the case that employers go to empty buildings and do not send people to respond in court. At this time, workers still need to provide evidence to prove the specific amount of wages in arrears.
A survey has shown that the education level and skill level of migrant workers are significantly related to the probability of wage arrears.
With a low level of education, eagerness to apply for a job, a strong arbitrariness to work, low job stability, and weak legal awareness, they are prone to defaulting on pay if they do not know how to protect their rights and interests in accordance with the law.
In the event of arrears of wages, migrant workers often do not have the financial strength to hire legal professionals to participate in litigation. At the same time, because most labor dispute cases have a small amount and require a lot of effort to collect evidence, many lawyers are unwilling to represent such cases.
"Until today, many migrant workers still lack the awareness of forensic evidence. They think it is troublesome or don't know what evidence is needed. In the process of protecting their rights, they believe that the case-handling agency will retrieve them for them, or because of their own limitations, they cannot complete the evidence collection work." .
Wang Yuqi said that according to the labor law, the employer should sign a written labor contract with the employee after entering the job. However, some private enterprises and small enterprises lack the spirit of contract, or simply intentionally evade legal liabilities. This requires the government, enterprises, labor unions, etc. In terms of starting from the details, we will further promote the full implementation of the labor contract system and further improve the labor relationship coordination mechanism.
At the same time, she reminded employers that they should not assume that they do not have to bear any responsibility if they do not sign a labor contract. If an illegal act occurs, they will face double wage compensation.
"In addition, when migrant workers owe wages due to poor business performance, they must stop the loss in time and safeguard their rights and interests in a timely manner. Do not delay and delay, otherwise they may eventually win the lawsuit and cannot be effectively executed. In the case of inability to compensate, giving up the economic compensation is also a wise move to get back the arrears as soon as possible." Wang Yuqi said.
(The parties involved in the salary negotiation in the text are all aliases)
Reporter: Liu Shanshan and Peng Bing