Employers who had delayed paying their employees for three consecutive months face fines of up to 50,000 yuan (US$ 6,120 ) in Guangzhou.

A campaign on overdue pay for employees was launched Wednesday to safeguard migrant workers' rights in employment and insurance.

The minimum monthly wage for Guangzhou workers was 510 yuan. Any employer who had not paid the minimum wage or delayed paying employees for three months would be fined from 5,000 to 50,000 yuan, sources from the city's labor and social security bureau said.

Employees should be paid if they worked overtime and any employer who forced staff to work more than 36 hours extra per month could be fined 100 yuan per hour per person, an official with the bureau was quoted by the Guangzhou Daily as saying Wednesday.

Employers who fail to buy insurance for workers and change or make false social insurance registrations could be fined up to 5,000 yuan.

Previous checks showed that pay many workers in State-owned enterprises was also overdue. Some enterprises did not sign contracts with workers deliberately offering different excuses. Labor authorities said all employers were required to sign contracts with employees within one month of the date of employment, otherwise they would face a penalty of 30 to 50 yuan per person.

Editor: Donald