customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

sponsorType

authorLocations

authors

paywallTypes

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

factSheets

series

knowledgeQuestion

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

copyrighted

customTimezone

liveContents

Zhuang Pinghui

The government of northernmost Heilongjiang province has vowed to “financially support” a struggling state-owned coal firm after miners went to the streets to protest over unpaid wages.
Governor Lu Hao said on Saturday that his government would continue to support Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group but also ordered the firm to pay its miners their overdue salaries, a government statement said.
It was the first time Lu, who is in Beijing for the annual National People’s Congress, has acknowledged backpay problems at Longmay, the biggest coal enterprise in China’s northeast.
READ MORE: The chill wind blowing through China’s ailing coal industry
Lu’s promise came hours after miners and their families took to the streets in Shuangyashan to demand their wages.
Videos online showed angry miners holding banners and shouting slogans. One banner read: “We want to live. We want to eat.” A video showed the miners being dispersed by armed police.
But Lu’s latest comment contradicted remarks he made just a week ago at a Heilongjiang delegation meeting during the congress, in which he said the miners did not have “even a penny” cut from their pay. Lu had also cited Longmay as a prime example of an inefficient, overstaffed state-owned firm, saying that the government could not afford to bail out the group.

Longmay, which has been in the red since 2012, has to comply with Beijing’s order to cut industrial overcapacity. It said last year it would cut its 248,000 headcount by as much as 100,000. But Lu said productivity was still three times lower than the national average.
On Saturday, Lu blamed Longmay for withholding information about its employees’ unpaid wages and vowed to “severely punish” anybody who dared do so again.
 READ MORE: Hard times for China’s coal miners means China Shenhua Energy is worth a look, analysts say
The government would continue to support the firm to liquidate its assets and collect funds to pay workers, he said.
A former central regulatory official with knowledge of the issue told the South China Morning Post earlier that Longmay’s problems stemmed from years of miscalculated policies that needed more than financial aid to resolve.
“The problem is even worse than what is revealed,” the official said.
The mainland has promised to set up a 100 billion yuan (HK$120 billion) fund to help laid-off workers as it faces the daunting task of eliminating massive industrial overcapacity across the country.


Hong Kong group wants more women to be part of consultation bodies

Top Anglican official in Hong Kong defends multi-million dollar flat and past comments critical of Occupy protesters

Turbulence ahead: Hong Kong chief executive expects ‘emotional resistance’ as he advances Beijing development plans  

China’s new charity law provides much-needed clarity and transparency

China's 'Two Sessions' 2016

Miners’ protest: ailing Chinese coal firm Heilongjiang Longmay told to pay workers

A Chinese man collects low-grade coal on the outskirts of a city in China’s northern Heilongjiang province. Photo: EPA

epa00992887 Locals shovel coal mud onto wagons from a large pond outside a coal washery in Jixi, China's northern Heilongjiang province, 12 April 2007. In and around Jixi, coal mud fuel is mostly used for heating and cooking. A bi-product of the coal-burning process, coal mud is less effective than pure coal, but much cheaper or even free, as locals shovel bucket-fulls of it around the city's washeries or off passing trucks along the streets. China is struggling to get rid of thousands of small and illegal mines as the death toll of these makes the country's coal industry the most dangerous in the world. EPA/DIEGO AZUBEL

News

China

Politics

Economy

China Economy

Biggest coal enterprise in China’s northeast plans to lay off up to 100,000 workers to cut overcapacity, but has yet to pay many of them


China economy

China Coal Energy