Hundreds of Chinese workers stage protest over unpaid wages in Russian Far East

Chinese workers at a construction firm in Russia’s Khabarovsk region took to the streets on Sunday in protest over what they said were unpaid wages.

Employees of the construction firm Petro-Hehua LLC marched through the city of Komsomolsk-on-Amur with signs appealing to Rosneft head Igor Sechin and Vladimir Putin for help. The workers are employed at a construction site near the Komsomolsk oil refinery, according to the independent media outlet 7x7.

Videos of the demonstration show protesters carrying banners reading “No money”, “Putin, help us”, and “Sechin, help us.”

After the march, some workers staged a sit-in at a nearby park. Mayor Dmitry Zaplyutayev wrote on social media that he was in talks with the workers and refinery management, but he later deleted the post.

Security forces who arrived in the city center told passersby that the Chinese workers had gathered to celebrate Easter. No arrests have been reported.

Following the protest, the Komsomolsk-on-Amur prosecutor's office said it had opened an inquiry into possible labor law violations.

"In connection with wage arrears at one of the city's enterprises, the prosecutor's office has launched an inspection of labor law compliance. City prosecutor Andrei Olgin has gone to the scene. If there are grounds to act, a range of prosecutorial measures will be taken," the statement read.

Petro-Hehua LLC is a Russian subsidiary of China's Haihua Industry Group.