Workers hold protest 'Gangham Style'

A dozen construction workers raised public awareness about their unpaid wages by performing a horse-riding dance in front of their employer's building on Jan 21 in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, the Wuhan Evening News reported.

Construction workers perform a horse-riding dance in front of their employer's building to raise public awareness about their unpaid wages, on Jan 21, in Wuhan, Hubei province. [Photo/CFP]

The sunglasses-wearing "lead dancer", surnamed Lu, followed the moves in South Korean rapper Psy's viral dance video "Gangnam Style".

Lu worked as a contractor for the construction project of a concert hall that lasted from June to September 2012. He led more than 40 construction workers who demanded a total of 233,000 yuan ($37,460) of unpaid wages from the construction company.

Lu said the construction company did not answer his calls, and workers had kept asking Lu for their money. Lu already took 10,000 yuan out of his own pocket to pay them. His savings are now gone, but the problem remains unsolved.

Lu started the eye-catching dance in front of the concert hall in order to gather attention for the workers' cause.

The oldest dancer in the group is 61, surnamed Zeng. Zeng said the construction company owed him 20,000 yuan that his family urgently needs.

Another man, surnamed Luo, said the company had yet to pay him 9,000 yuan. Without the money, he cannot go home for Spring Festival, and his three children may have to drop out of high school.

A manager from the construction company responded by blaming the owner of the concert hall, saying the owner failed to pay in full for the project after it was completed and put into use in November.

Yet a manager from the company that owns the concert hall said full payment was postponed because the construction company did not address complaints about the building and has not removed trash piled up on the third floor.

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