Recently, Dongguan Xigu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has delayed the payment of wages to dozens of employees from December 2024 to February 2025, totaling 687,600 yuan, reaching the amount standard for the crime of refusing to pay labor remuneration. The Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau fined 10,000 yuan.
According to administrative penalty Dongren Shejianzi〔2025〕No. 29-344, Dongguan Xigu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. owes wages to 50 employees for December 2024, amounting to 200,047.33 yuan; to 55 employees for January 2025, totaling 276,801.97 yuan; and to 61 employees for February 2025, totaling 210,771.52 yuan.
Regarding the legal basis for the crime of “refusing to pay labor remuneration”
The provisions of Article 276-1 of the Criminal Law state:
An employer who evades paying workers’ wages through transfer of property, hiding, or other means, or has the ability to pay but refuses to pay, and the amount is relatively large, and after being ordered by relevant government departments to pay, still refuses to pay,
shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of up to three years or criminal detention, and may also be fined;
If the amount is particularly large or there are other serious circumstances, the sentence shall be between three and seven years, and a fine may be imposed.The Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau states that on April 1, 2025, it issued the “Labor Security Supervision Deadline Correction Order” (Dongrenshejianzi〔2025〕No. 29-344) to the company, but the company failed to pay on time. On April 9, 2025, the bureau issued the “Labor Security Supervision Deadline Correction Order” (Dongrenshejianzi〔2025〕No. 29-344-02), but the company still failed to pay on time.
Clearly, Dongguan Xigu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. not only meets the amount standard for conviction but also fully satisfies the conditions for criminal conviction.
Amount standards (from “Interpretation of the Supreme People’s Court and the Supreme People’s Procuratorate on Several Issues Concerning the Application of Law in Handling Criminal Cases of Refusing to Pay Labor Remuneration”)
The judicial interpretation makes the following provisions for “relatively large amount” and “particularly large amount”:
(1) Relatively large amount
One of the following situations qualifies as “relatively large amount”:
- Owing wages for more than three months to one person, with the amount exceeding 5,000 yuan;
- Owing wages to more than ten people, with a total amount exceeding 30,000 yuan.
(2) Particularly large amount
One of the following situations qualifies as “particularly large amount”:- Owing wages of more than 30,000 yuan to one person;
- Owing wages to more than ten people, with a total amount exceeding 100,000 yuan.
But the most critical question is, why, in the face of factually illegal behavior, does only the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau impose fines without pursuing legal responsibility or sentencing to fixed-term imprisonment or detention? Moreover, compared to 68.76 million yuan, 10,000 yuan is like a drop in the bucket. It is likely that the company’s daily profit is dozens of times this amount. Such behavior is not a punishment but an encouragement, a “protection fee” paid to the Zhongxiu Group. It exposes these rogue capitalists who arbitrarily delay workers’ wages, with the backing of Zhongxiu bureaucratic monopoly groups.
Let’s see how this 10,000 yuan was “sentenced” out.
The company violated Article 30, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the “Regulations on Labor Security Supervision,” and based on Article 30, Paragraph 1, Item (3), of the “Regulations on Labor Security Supervision,” and the “Discretionary Rules for Administrative Penalties of the Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau” (Dongrenshefa〔2024〕No. 29), and its appendix “Detailed Standards for Discretionary Penalties of the Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau,” Item 74 (illegal degree: general), the penalty of 10,000 yuan was imposed on the company.
Dongguan Xigu New Energy Technology Co., Ltd. owes wages totaling 687,600 yuan but is only fined 10,000 yuan. This is an established fact. The reason is “violating Article 30, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the ‘Labor Security Supervision Regulations’,” and the decision was made referring to the “Detailed Standards for Discretionary Penalties of the Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau,” Item 74 (illegal degree: general).
Article 30, Paragraph 1, Item (3) of the “Regulations on Labor Security Supervision”:
This is the clause for identifying illegal acts, which states:
The following acts shall be ordered to correct by the labor security administrative department, and may be subject to warnings, fines, and other administrative penalties:
(3) Deducting wages or unjustifiably delaying wages of workers.Penalty basis: “Regulations on Labor Security Supervision,” Article 28:
Fines of more than 2,000 yuan and less than 20,000 yuan.Local detailed rules: “Discretionary Standards for Administrative Penalties of the Dongguan Human Resources and Social Security Bureau,” Item 74:
This item implements the detailed rules for Article 30, Item (3), dividing “delayed wages” into categories based on illegal severity:
Illegal severity | Specific manifestation (reference) | Fine standard
—|—|—
General — delayed wages with lower amounts, active cooperation in rectification, no serious consequences — fine of 10,000 yuan or less
Relatively serious — larger delayed wages, multiple victims, refusal to rectify — fine of 10,000 to 15,000 yuan
Serious — particularly large delayed wages, causing social impact or triggering mass incidents — fine of 15,000 to 20,000 yuan and recommended criminal transfer
- Delayed wages to dozens of workers, totaling 687,600 yuan;
- The company was ordered twice by the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau but still did not pay; the delay lasted over three months;
- Workers’ rights protection was passive, and issues were not resolved in time.
First, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau’s penalty is completely superficial, and the above situation fully meets the standards of “serious illegal” or even “malicious circumstances,” which should at least be classified as “relatively serious” or “serious” illegal acts. Yet, they only imposed a fine of 10,000 yuan under the “general” illegal degree. This once again reflects the class nature of the law, embodying the will of the Zhongxiu bureaucratic monopoly bourgeoisie. Even if, hypothetically, the fine were increased infinitely, and the company leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment or even the death penalty, none of this money would reach the workers’ hands. It would not change the exploited and oppressed status of the proletariat in capitalist society; it would only flow into the pockets of Zhongxiu bureaucrats.
拖欠数十名员工薪酬68.76万元，东莞一企业被罚1万元_劳动_监察_保障
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