Chinese workers in Poland protest over unpaid wages
AFP - 4 hrs 11 mins ago
AFPWojtek Radwanski
Chinese workers claiming to have been cheated out of wages by their Polish-Chinese labour agents have pitched a protest camp in front of the Chinese embassy in the Polish capital Warsaw.
A protestor who identified himself as Lim, a tile layer, told AFP Wednesday in broken Polish and English that the group was paid only for a short time after having arrived from China in March to work in construction.
"We have no pay in three months. No work from June 24. We are homeless," he said, adding he and 50 or so other protesting labourers lacked the funds to return to China.
Complaining that they have received no help from the Chinese embassy in Warsaw, the protesters have pitched tents using sheets, tarpaulins and cardboard on its front lawn.
Hailing from southeast China, the workers said they had been hired by Heyly, a Chinese company, and its Polish partners to work on various residential construction sites in the capital Warsaw.
Contact details, including a telephone number, for Heyly provided to AFP by the workers match those of the Fujian Heyly Overseas Employment which has an English-language Internet site.
"Fujian Heyly Overseas Employment Co. Ltd. is a licensed overseas employment agency approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China," says the company website.
The website also states that among other activities, the company is involved in "recruiting and recommending domestic labourers to work abroad."
AFP - 4 hrs 11 mins ago
AFPWojtek Radwanski
Chinese workers claiming to have been cheated out of wages by their Polish-Chinese labour agents have pitched a protest camp in front of the Chinese embassy in the Polish capital Warsaw.
A protestor who identified himself as Lim, a tile layer, told AFP Wednesday in broken Polish and English that the group was paid only for a short time after having arrived from China in March to work in construction.
"We have no pay in three months. No work from June 24. We are homeless," he said, adding he and 50 or so other protesting labourers lacked the funds to return to China.
Complaining that they have received no help from the Chinese embassy in Warsaw, the protesters have pitched tents using sheets, tarpaulins and cardboard on its front lawn.
Hailing from southeast China, the workers said they had been hired by Heyly, a Chinese company, and its Polish partners to work on various residential construction sites in the capital Warsaw.
Contact details, including a telephone number, for Heyly provided to AFP by the workers match those of the Fujian Heyly Overseas Employment which has an English-language Internet site.
"Fujian Heyly Overseas Employment Co. Ltd. is a licensed overseas employment agency approved by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China," says the company website.
The website also states that among other activities, the company is involved in "recruiting and recommending domestic labourers to work abroad."
