BEIJING, Sept. 15 -- 12Shenzhen companies were found to have been paying their workers less than the minimum wage, according to the results of a recent government inspection.

One of the companies, Jianhua Watch (Shenzhen) Ltd of Nanshan District paid 33 of its 54 workers only 600 yuan (75 U.S. dollars) a month, 210 yuan (26 dollars)short of the 810-yuan (102 dollars) minimum wage required by the law. Their total monthly wages were 6,580 yuan short of the minimum wages they should have received, the company's payroll showed.

The manager of the company, a man surnamed Tan, told the labor officials yesterday the company was in the process of paying the balance to the workers . He said the low wage was for "untrained workers." "I did not know the minimum pay had been raised," he said.

Most of the 12 violating companies are located in Bao'an and Longgang districts.

The minimum wage inside the special economic zone was raised to 810 yuan (102 dollars)and that outside the special economic zone was raised to 700 yuan (88 dollars) July 1 this year.

To impose the minimum wages, the municipal labor and social security bureau launched a three-month operation against underpayment Thursday. During the operation, called "Sword," the bureau will inspect companies and severely punish those violating labor laws, said Guan Lingen, director general of the bureau, at the beginning of the operation Thursday.

Although the new minimum wages have been imposed for two months, there are still companies ignoring the new standard. "Some companies pay less than the minimum wage, and some companies don't pay extra for overtime work," Zhang Ming, a bureau official.

In Jianhua Watch, the 33 workers worked on average 62 hours of overtime per month, about 26 hours more than the maximum overtime allowed by the law. The company owed workers a total of 9,975 yuan for the extra work, because it paid each worker only a little more than three yuan per hour for overtime.

On the first floor of the filthy, old factory house, there is a notice dating back to Aug. 23, which warns worker against refusing overtime. "If he refuses overwork for a second time, he will be fired immediately," said the notice. Zhang Suo, an official with the Nanshan labor authority, said it was illegal to force workers into overtime work.

The labor authority has ordered the company to correct the wrongdoings.

(Source: Shenzhen Daily)