For eight years, 156 migrant workers from Chongqing have been struggling to receive their hard-earned wages after completing a municipal road construction project in Ruili, Yunnan. The workers, some now over 60 years old, include individuals battling illnesses like nasopharyngeal cancer and others left disabled by workplace injuries, with families drained by medical expenses.

The dispute stems from a 2015 project bid by the Ruili Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau (Ruili HURD) for the "Ruili International Logistics Park Wanding Municipal Road Project." Jingcheng Road & Bridge Construction Co. (Jingcheng R&B), the winning contractor, illegally subcontracted three road segments to a team led by Liu Chuanping and a partner surnamed Tan. Despite completing the work in March 2017, Jingcheng R&B failed to pay the full amount, leaving over 5.7 million yuan ($800,000) unpaid—directly tied to the workers' wages.

Courts ruled the subcontract invalid but upheld the workers’ claim to payment since the project passed quality inspections. However, Ruili HURD and Jingcheng R&B never finalized settlement accounts, citing incomplete procedures. In 2023, Jingcheng R&B entered bankruptcy, extinguishing hopes of repayment.

Liu and Tan sued Ruili HURD to demand payment from unpaid project funds, but courts at three levels dismissed the case, citing unsettled accounts between the bureau and Jingcheng R&B. Judges urged Ruili HURD to expedite settlement to protect workers’ rights.

A recent turning point came when Chongqing’s Kaizhou District government, where most workers are registered, formally requested Yunnan’s Dehong Prefecture to intervene. Ruili HURD has since formed a liquidation team to pressure Jingcheng R&B, though progress remains slow.

Liu, now pinning hopes on a prosecutorial review and central inspection team intervention, said: "After eight years of despair, we finally see a glimmer of justice."

(Note: Monetary conversions are approximate based on current exchange rates.)