More than 40 teachers in Henan's Hae-won kindergarten were paid for: the gardeners were threatened by lock-in and the responsibility for supervision of education at the county level was being pursued

On 12 November, a group teacher-salary incident occurred in the Kyin Kyeong-shin International Kindergarten, Yiyi County, Henan Province. Publicly disseminated live information indicates that the park involves over 40 teachers whose salaries are in arrears and teachers go to kindergartens to raise banners for payment of labour. In the course of defending their rights, the head of the garden was accused of smashing objects, intimidating teachers and even locking in the room the paid person to prevent him from leaving.

This labour dispute raises two different issues: the responsibility of the kindergarten for long-term or persistent wage arrears and the suspicion that the work force is being held in a manner that intimidates and restricts personal freedom.

As at 13 November, the Pymán district authorities had not yet issued a complete report on the amounts owed, the numbers involved, the conflicts on the ground and the results of the process. The exact length of time, the amount accumulated by the manager, and the person and duration of the alleged lock-in were not fully disclosed.

However, the incident has been directed towards a very clear management responsibility: The organizers of kindergartens must pay their wages in accordance with the law, and the local education authorities and labour safety inspection bodies are also responsible for addressing the issue of prejudice to the rights and interests of teaching staff.

Teachers draw banners for salaries, gardeners are accused of intimidation

The most noteworthy details of this incident were not teachers who had drawn banners, but rather public information that teachers who demanded payment of their salaries were subjected to restrictions on movement.

According to live information circulated on 12 November, teachers involved in the collection of salaries have chosen to go to the park to make their claims publicly, because of the long-term irregularity of their salaries. Subsequently, there was a clash between the two sides, and the officials concerned were accused of preventing the defence of their rights by means of beatings, intimidation and locking some of the teachers in their rooms.

The details of the acts still need to be further ascertained on the basis of the original video from the scene, witness statements and public security law enforcement records. However, these allegations have gone beyond the rhetoric of general labour disputes and conflict management.

Wage debt and personal freedom are two different legal relationships. Even if the employer and the employer dispute the amount of salary owed, the employer has no authority to deal with the dispute in a manner that limits the personal freedom of the employee.

If the relevant lock-in and the prevention of departure are confirmed, the public security organs need to further investigate the existence of illegal restrictions on personal liberty, threats to the physical integrity of others and to determine, in accordance with the law, whether there is a need for public order or criminal liability.

Workers are required to claim their wages from employers without the need for special permission from the head of the garden or the manager. Nor can the gardeners deprive themselves of their right to normal action because of the way in which the employees collectively express their claims.

The first thing to be followed is the action taken by the actual organizers of the kindergarten, the day-to-day and the field managers, respectively, and the decision by whom to prevent the teacher from leaving.

A pre-school education law has been introduced, which clearly defines the obligation to pay security

The Law of the People ' s Republic of China on Pre-school Education, which was in force since 1 June 2025, has incorporated the wage security of kindergarten teachers into national law.

Article 46 of the Act clearly stipulates that kindergartens and their organizers shall guarantee the salary benefits of teachers and other workers, pay social insurance and improve working conditions in accordance with the law. For private kindergartens, the law also requires that teachers ' salaries be guaranteed by law.

Article 43 also provides that kindergartens shall conclude employment contracts or labour contracts with teaching staff in accordance with the law and shall submit information on such contracts to the county education administration.

This means that the issue of salaries in the international kindergarten of the Beijing Master Forest in Pyungzhou does not involve only private agreements between teachers and the gardener.

The cantonal education administration assumes the responsibility for the management of kindergartens in accordance with the law, while the payment of remuneration for work in employers is a matter that the labour security inspectorate may investigate in accordance with the law.

Article 30 of the Labour Contracts Act provides that employers shall pay their remuneration for work in full and on time. Article 85 further clarifies that the labour administration may order the payment of a time limit for employers who have defaulted on their wages; If the payment is overdue, the liability for the corresponding additional compensation shall be established by law.

The incident therefore involved at least a few specific matters to be addressed: checking the labour relations and wage records of over 40 teaching staff, confirming the actual amount of arrears, enforcing payment by law and checking for the existence of a concurrent social security default.

These matters do not depend on the continuous fermentation of online opinion to be initiated. The law has given the competent authorities the corresponding responsibilities.

As a pre-school institution, unpaid wages also affect public services

Kindergartens are not ordinary retail stores.

The fact that teachers are responsible for the care, education and safety of their children and that they are paid on time not only determines the basic life of the worker, but also the sustainability of the educational system.

For the Kyinhu International Kindergarten, wage disputes involving over 40 teaching staff have been sufficient to raise the authorities ' concerns about their operation.

If a kindergarten is unable to pay its employees ' wages normally, the education authorities need to know about its funding, its operation permits, its fee management, the staffing of teachers and the sustainability of regular teaching, so as to avoid further labour disputes affecting children and parents in the park.

One of the immediate questions is whether the kindergarten is still charging tuition fees and other fees, and why the wage expenditure is not guaranteed.

Private kindergartens may be operated autonomously in accordance with the law, but their operating responsibilities cannot be removed from public supervision. The Pre-school Education Act contains special provisions for the fees of kindergartens, the employment of personnel, the quality of education and the supervision and management of such facilities.

The arrears of teachers ' salaries, first and foremost the issue of labour rights and interests; When the dispute involves a large number of teaching staff, it also becomes a question of whether pre-school institutions can provide public services in a stable manner.

Questions of responsibility of the Pygmy County Government and the competent authorities

In this case, the first to be held liable for the payment of wages was the employer involved in the kindergarten and the organizer of the obligation under the law. The responsibility to be discharged cannot be simply transferred to local finance until the financial and labour contract relationship has been identified.

On the other hand, local administrative authorities cannot abandon statutory supervision because the kindergarten may belong to a private institution.

(b) The Pymhu county education department is responsible for supervising the operation of kindergartens in accordance with the law, in view of the division of responsibilities; The county human resources social security department is responsible for the legal treatment of salary payments and labour security inspections; Public security organs, in turn, should investigate alleged acts of intimidation or restriction of personal liberty.

Public employment information indicates that the Secretary of the County Commission of Peng Yi is Lee Joon Wei and the Governor of Pyeong is a member of the Council. As the main party leaders, they have the corresponding responsibilities at the level of the local party council leadership and the administration of government. In the case of labour disputes involving dozens of teaching staff, it is necessary for the county government to promote the performance of the education, social security and public security sectors in accordance with their respective competencies, rather than placing teachers on permanent pay at the entrance to the school.

In particular, clear results are needed:

-Salary liability: Verify the number of persons involved, the month in arrears, the amount due and the specific payment arrangements. - Law enforcement responsibility: Investigation of the destruction, intimidation and alleged locking of doors to restrict personal freedom, and legal treatment of the acts in question.

• The responsibility for monitoring education: Checking the licensing of the operation of the park, the security of teachers, the management of fees and the existence of any operational risks that affect the normal teaching.

These three aspects, which concern different organs, cannot be confused or mutually exclusive.

Workers should not be threatened to recover their wages.

The most basic labour relations are the entry of teachers into kindergarten, the provision of labour and the payment of wages in accordance with the law.

Today, several teachers of the Kyushu International Kindergarten of the Beijing Forest in Pyeongzhou have to ask for compensation in the form of banners, and there are allegations of intimidation and restriction of personal liberty by the manager of the park, which have given the dispute a clear public oversight value.

The work of the district authorities should not be limited to the process of persuading the parties to consult. The amount of salary arrears should be verified, the obligation to pay must be fulfilled, allegations concerning personal liberty must be investigated in accordance with the law, and the sustainability of kindergarten education should be placed under supervision.

A kindergarten that teaches children to respect the rules, first and foremost to treat their teachers in accordance with the law. The local government's protection of workers' rights must also be reflected in the specific payment of wages and the results of the enforcement.

The outcome of the pay-raiser in Pingzhou will be a direct test of whether the existing wage security provisions in the pre-school education sector can be applied to the basic workers.