Chinese construction workers protest unpaid wages in Russia’s Far East- VIDEO

A major labor dispute erupted in Russia’s Khabarovsk region this week as hundreds of Chinese migrant workers took to the streets to protest months of unpaid wages.

At least 200 employees of Petro-Hehua, a Russian-Chinese contractor working on a fuel-making unit at Rosneft’s Komsomolsk Refinery, marched through the city of Komsomolsk-na-Amure, News.Az reports, citing The Moscow Times. 

The protesters issued a direct appeal for help to Russian President Vladimir Putin and Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, demanding their back pay and a resolution to their precarious legal and financial situation.

The regional government has intervened, stating that while the Komsomolsk Refinery had fulfilled its financial obligations to Petro-Hehua in full, the contractor—a subsidiary of China’s Haihua Industry Group—had failed to pass those wages on to its personnel. Tensions escalated on Monday when workers renewed their demonstrations, prompting the deployment of anti-riot police and National Guard troops to block roads near the refinery and maintain order.

Adding to the complexity of the standoff, regional officials revealed that Rosneft recently terminated its contract with Petro-Hehua due to "poor quality and delays." While workers are demanding the reinstatement of that contract, authorities are instead focusing on repatriation. Sergei Dmitriyev, the region’s minister of interior affairs, noted that while the workers were promised help returning to China, the chief executive of Petro-Hehua is currently abroad and has yet to meet with the employees to initiate the process.

Regional prosecutors have launched a formal investigation into potential violations of Russian labor laws, promising swift "response measures" if the allegations of wage theft are confirmed. With Russia’s Foreign Ministry and the Chinese consulate in Khabarovsk now involved, the situation remains a high-stakes diplomatic and humanitarian challenge in a region increasingly dependent on foreign labor for critical energy infrastructure.

News.Az 

By Leyla Şirinova