Double standard of law enforcers denies fairness for migrant workers

NINE MIGRANT WORKERS were were detained by police for trying to jump off a high building in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province, because they hadn't received their wages. The migrant workers are victims of social injustice and detaining them won't help solve the matter, says a comment on Southern Metropolis Daily:

The local police have reasons to justify their decision. Those trying to jump off the high building posed a threat to their own and other people's safety; it was reasonable to stop them.

But where were these law enforcers when the workers failed to get their pay?

Lacking college degrees or powerful family backgrounds, migrant workers have always been vulnerable to violations of their rights. There are many instances when unable to get their wages migrant workers have sought help from police or officials, who, instead of offering assistance, simply chased them away. If they had another choice, would they try to jump off a high building?

Our law enforcers are rather good at easing their own workload. When vulnerable people are about to do something illegal, they are efficient and implement the law strictly; when some powerful figure breaks law, they turn a blind eye to it.

As a result, justice is bent while social problems go without being solved. For example, detaining migrant workers trying to jump off the high building won't solve the problem, because they still have not got their wages, which is clearly the crucial issue.

Migrant workers need their wages - that's the key problem and that problem must be solved, or the migrant workers will continue asking for their wages in other ways. If the problem remains unsolved for too long and the local government departments pass the buck to one another, the migrant workers might even choose other radical ways of seeking justice, which could pose a threat to society.

The case should be a lesson for officials of Hefei, especially those responsible for defending social justice and enforcing the law. It is time they learnt to truly help vulnerable people.