Who to hold accountable — unpaid wages, wrongful dismissal, financial losses — filing complaints, arbitration, or lawsuits instead of taking revenge

12. Who to hold accountable — unpaid wages, wrongful dismissal, financial losses — filing complaints, arbitration, or lawsuits instead of taking revenge

Cost: There are no fees for filing complaints or arbitration. However, you’ll need to make one or two trips and wait several months. The real challenge is resisting the urge to take matters into your own hands during that time.

In plain terms: Pursuing legal channels may ultimately leave you without any compensation. On the other hand, resorting to revenge achieves the same result — no money recovered — while also risking your own life. Consider the case in Wuxi: Xu failed to obtain his diploma and was dissatisfied with his internship pay, so he attacked people with a knife, killing 8 and injuring 17. He was sentenced to death, which was carried out. Nationwide in 2024, 654,000 workers recovered 8.65 billion yuan through complaints and arbitration for unpaid wages.

Benefit: Official statistics back up legal remedies. In 2024, labor inspectors handled 137,000 cases, resulting in 8.65 billion yuan being returned to 654,000 workers. Additionally, 998 individuals were convicted under laws against wage theft. Instructions on filing labor complaints and arbitration are provided in Section 7, Item 2. The consequences of revenge are outlined in Article 232 of the Criminal Law: “Whoever intentionally kills another shall be sentenced to death, life imprisonment, or fixed-term imprisonment of not less than ten years; if the circumstances are relatively minor, they shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.” An official example: Xu failed his exams and did not receive his diploma; he also resented his internship pay. On November 16, 2024, he returned to Wuxi Arts and Crafts Vocational College and attacked people with a knife, killing 8 and injuring 17. He was sentenced to death for intentional homicide, with political rights revoked for life; the sentence was carried out on January 20, 2025. His grievances concerned the school and pay, yet his victims were fellow students, and he received no compensation at all (nationwide data).

Evidence grade: A

Sources: National People's Congress (1997). Criminal Law (Article 232). <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180206_364975.shtml>; <http://www.news.cn/20241117/65a18fddb453469ebe91c78eda669893/c.html> (Reposted from Yixing police report, including the number of casualties and the original motive); Supreme People's Procuratorate of China (2025). Xu Jiajin, the criminal in the Wuxi campus knife wounding case, was executed. <https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/zdgz/202501/t20250120_680197.shtml>; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security of China (2025). 2024 Statistical Bulletin on the Development of Human Resources and Social Security. <https://www.mohrss.gov.cn/SYrlzyhshbzb/zwgk/szrs/tjgb/202506/W020250616518526345602.pdf>; Supreme People's Court of China (2025). Supreme People's Court of China work report ("For Fan Weiqiu who drove into a pedestrian, Xu Jiajin and others who committed a knife attack on campus were sentenced to death"). <https://www.gov.cn/yaowen/liebiao/202503/content_7013680.htm>

Notes: Interns still enrolled in school generally do not qualify as having an employment relationship with their host organizations. If they fail to receive internship pay, they must seek mediation from their school or file a lawsuit in court, as labor arbitration is not an option. The same applies to individuals who perform private work for families or individuals and are then denied payment — they must also turn to the courts; see Section 7, Item 22 (first determine who hired you). Detailed steps for filing labor complaints and arbitration are provided in Section 7, Item 2. The limits on debt collection are outlined in Section 9, Item 15 (no detaining or confining debtors). Even legal channels may fail to secure compensation, as case resolution does not guarantee payment receipt. Conversely, revenge achieves no financial recovery and risks your own life.