August 24,2010, Shanxi Journal, a state-hold local media in Shanxi province, reported one ZTE's overseas contract engineer's annoying experience today.
According to this engineer named Hao Jianhua, he was sent by a Xi'an company to Lesotho in south Africa to work for a telecom project of ZTE there. He has come back for half year after 14 months of work in Lesotho, but he still can't get the salary back. He complained to the newspaper that ZTE hurt his legal benefit as a contract engineer.
Hao left Xi'an for Lesotho on December 15, 2008 for gaining more money for his poor family. Already in his 50s, Hao told the reporter that overseas life was far less beautiful, he and his colleagues have to undertake many pressures, even life security pressure. "I should finish the project on October 15 of 2009, but ZTE hoped us to work longer, so we worked there for another 4 months. We never imagined that we can't get our salary back after half a year. ZTE owes me 80,000 to 90,000 Yuan (about 12,000 USD)". said Mr. Hao.
According to the company who sent Mr. Hao to Lesotho, they couldn't pay Mr. Hao and his colleagues because ZTE didn't pay them the related service fee. The payment request has been send to ZTE's shenzhen headquarter, but staffs there were not satisfied with these request and they wouldn’t make payment. "We think that it is the inside wrangle of ZTE delayed this payment. ZTE's inside management problems have affected us directly. With so many delay of payment, our company is hard to continue our business." the HR manager of this company told the reporter.
"As a famous international telecom equipment manufacturer and public company, we don't think that ZTE can do such a thing. We called them, emailed them many times, but up to now no feedback. " Mr. Hao said.
There is another thing that makes Mr.Hao angry with ZTE. Before he came back from Lesotho, he received a praised letter from ZTE about his good job in Lesotho. But after he came back, ZTE gave his job in Lesotho a "D" remark which means he can only get about 50% of his salary. "In the 14 months I worked there, I never violated any rules of ZTE. Why would they give me a "D"? When I asked ZTE the base of the remark they just told me it was by feeling. Is this what ZTE should do to a contract engineer?" When talked about this, Mr. Haw was very angry. He said :"In today's China, even immigrated workers can have salary on time, but we contract engineers can't have this treatment. "