Since the start of this year, the Human Resources and Social Security Bureau of Handan City in Hebei Province has focused on addressing the challenges of wage arrears in the engineering and construction sector. The bureau has innovatively established a municipal-level comprehensive governance platform for "two types of arrears"—specifically, arrears in project payments and arrears in migrant workers' wages—while strengthening long-term regulatory mechanisms. This initiative aims to shift the approach to wage arrears from passive response to active prevention and systemic solutions. Since the platform began operations on June 1st, the number of wage arrears leads reported on the national platform has dropped by nearly 10 percent year-on-year, with a decline of over 20 percent in the engineering and construction field, demonstrating significant initial results.

"Addressing wage arrears for migrant workers is crucial to the vital interests of all laborers and to social fairness and justice, so we must see it through to the end," stated Ma Jujun, Director of the Handan City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau. He emphasized that the bureau adheres to a problem-oriented, systematic approach, leveraging platform-based thinking and addressing root causes. Through digital reform, they aim to resolve wage arrears governance challenges and effectively advance the shift toward proactive prevention.

All-inclusive data collection ensures all construction projects are brought under supervision. On August 20th, the platform flagged the commencement information for an old pipeline renovation and upgrade project, immediately distributing it to the relevant district portal. Local labor inspection personnel quickly collaborated with industry authorities for on-site verification, confirmed the project had actually started, and registered it on the platform on August 24th. They also urged the project party to open a platform account for subsequent oversight. This exemplifies the bureau's commitment to comprehensive project inclusion. To address issues like incomplete coverage of ongoing projects, unlicensed construction, and difficulties supervising small and scattered projects, the city has adopted a categorized approach, establishing multi-path inclusion mechanisms such as real-time reporting, on-demand registration, and intelligent identification.

"For projects with construction permits, we promptly receive new commencement data pushed by administrative approval departments and register them as soon as construction begins. For projects that don't require permits, we enforce the responsibilities of construction units and local authorities, adding them as soon as they are noticed," explained Sun Pei, Head of the Labor Inspection Section. For suspected small or scattered projects and illegal construction, Handan uses AI technology to enhance data recognition logic, involving smart screening, level-by-level assignment, on-site verification, and archival registration. A real-time monitoring dashboard visually displays project distribution, investment categories, early warning situations, and trends, providing data support for analysis, early warning, and targeted rectification. "Now, with AI and satellite image recognition, even hidden small projects can be detected in a timely manner, promoting effective inclusion of all projects," Sun Pei added. To date, the platform has gathered information on nearly 10,000 construction projects citywide, with routine supervision conducted over thousands of key projects.

Data sharing across departments breaks down information silos. In August, when the Handan Bank Zhuhe Road Sub-branch was distributing wages for a hospital project, it discovered ID number errors for two workers, preventing timely payment. Through multi-departmental data comparison and verification, the platform issued a timely warning and referred the matter to the relevant units. After correction, the workers' wages were fully repaid. This issue was identified and resolved thanks to the platform's multi-departmental data collaboration mechanism. Handan has integrated data resources across multiple levels, fields, and departments to provide intelligent support for its two core modules: engineering payment supervision and migrant worker wage supervision. The housing and urban-rural development, human resources and social security, and administrative approval departments have achieved interconnectedness of project payment, wage payment, and project information, with automatic and real-time synchronization of project approval and construction permit data. The platform also horizontally links six key departments—transportation, water resources, agriculture and rural affairs, development and reform, finance, and natural resources planning—connecting data from 23 banks and insurance companies on special account openings and payroll disbursement flows.

Additionally, it has expanded video and image collection channels by integrating China Tower's high-point monitoring and the housing authority's "Smart Construction Site" video surveillance, layered with satellite remote sensing imagery for real-time perception of project construction status. As of now, the platform has gathered over 240,000 data catalogs and approximately 33 billion basic data resources, gradually realizing the vision of "data doing the legwork so supervision can be more efficient."

Coordinated action combined with AI enables closed-loop resolution to nip risks in the bud. In mid-August, the warning screen at Handan's Comprehensive Governance Command Center showed potential risks in the July labor cost disbursement for a project in Daming County. Command center staff immediately verified the situation, contacted the project's labor administrator, and meticulously checked the labor cost details. In just one day, they identified the cause of the warning and pushed the project party to rectify it. This efficient handling is supported by the synergy of "AI early warning and the command center's entity-based operation." To enhance the intelligence of project payment and wage disbursement warnings, consolidate governance efforts, and improve cross-departmental coordination efficiency, the command center leverages AI large models and big data analytics.

It conducts intelligent risk profiling of supervised projects, implementing graded warnings, rectification deadlines, and mandatory supervision. The platform has drawn business backbones from administrative approval, housing, and state-owned asset departments to work centrally, carrying out core functions like overall inspection, warning handling, and digital aggregation analysis. Through a working mechanism of daily coordination, weekly scheduling, and monthly research and judgment, it deeply integrates cross-departmental efforts, establishing a closed-loop management process of "intelligent warning, graded assignment, verification and handling, and case closure." Since its inception, the platform has conducted joint multi-departmental supervision, ordering rectification or suspension of work on some projects with insufficient labor cost disbursement, thereby reinforcing the responsibilities of construction units, construction enterprises, and industry authorities. Around warning generation, elimination mechanisms, and practical scenarios, the city has conducted multiple rounds of special training across all 20 counties (cities, districts), covering over 400 participants and ensuring standardized warning handling operations. "We will continue to optimize platform functions, deepen data integration, improve closed-loop mechanisms, and use stricter standards and more practical measures to strengthen the protection of rights and interests, ensuring every laborer can work with peace of mind and earn their wages fairly," said Wang Yan, Deputy Director of the Handan City Human Resources and Social Security Bureau.