On January 4, 2026, three former investment promotion directors of Yunnan Dianzhong New Area jointly filed for labor arbitration with local authorities, demanding that the Dianzhong New Area Administrative Committee honor its commitment and pay their outstanding wages, which they claim have not been fully disbursed for four years. The case was heard on February 2 at the Labor Arbitration Court in Guandu District, Kunming, with the involved parties and representatives from the Yunnan Dianzhong New Area Administrative Committee and the Yunnan Dianzhong New Area Human Resources Development Center present at the hearing.
One of the former directors involved, Zhou Yuan (a pseudonym), stated that starting in 2020, he and two others were successively appointed as investment promotion directors for the Dianzhong New Area through open social recruitment, each responsible for investment promotion work in different regions. "An annual salary of 800,000 yuan was promised at the time, but it has not been honored in practice since 2022. Later, all performance-based pay was suspended on the grounds of failing performance evaluations. However, in reality, no formal, legally compliant assessments have been conducted by the unit since 2022," he said. By December 2025, the total unpaid wages exceeded 3 million yuan. On January 23, when contacted for verification, the Human Resources Development Center confirmed that the three individuals were indeed personnel who had previously signed labor contracts but denied the existence of any wage arrears.
The Yunnan Dianzhong New Area was established in 2015. On May 20, 2020, it issued the "Announcement on the Open Recruitment of Investment Promotion Directors," aiming to recruit six directors nationally. The announcement stated that "those who pass the probation period assessment and meet the conditions may apply for specialized public institution编制 (bianzhi) for talents," and that "the salary principle shall be no lower than the average salary level of senior executives in provincial state-owned enterprises in developed regions, comprising a base salary (200,000 yuan) + performance salary (500,000 yuan) + special contribution award; the performance salary is subject to assessment, and the criteria for the special contribution award are implemented according to relevant regulations of the New Area." On August 21, 2021, the New Area issued another public recruitment announcement for investment promotion directors, explicitly stating "the salary adopts an annual system, with a pre-tax comprehensive annual salary of 800,000 yuan (subject to work performance assessment results)."
After passing the relevant selection and assessment processes, Zhou Yuan, Yang Moumou, and Geng Moumou were successively appointed as regional investment promotion directors between August 2020 and January 2022, responsible for investment promotion in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Pearl River Delta, and Yangtze River Delta regions, respectively. Zhou Yuan indicated that since taking office, he had diligently performed his duties,累计 (leiji) attracting total signed investment of over 72 billion yuan for the Dianzhong New Area, with actual funds到位 (daowei) exceeding 700 million yuan, and generating tax revenue of over 170 million yuan for the area. "However, the promised salary was never fully implemented," he told the reporter, noting that "starting in 2022, the agreed monthly base salary of 40,000 yuan was only paid at 32,000 yuan, and the performance portion was never fully paid. After five months, the base salary was further reduced to 16,660 yuan; by October and November 2025, even this 16,660 base salary began to be withheld without reason. Yet, throughout this period, I continued to perform my duties normally."
Zhou Yuan stated that in March 2024, the main leadership of the Dianzhong New Area Investment Promotion Bureau verbally announced the dismissal of the three regional directors and the termination of their labor contracts on the grounds of "failing assessments for two consecutive years." "We were appointed as investment promotion directors following the 'Three Majors and One Large' decision-making process by the New Area's Party Working Committee. This individual did not have the authority to handle our appointment and dismissal matters. We requested written documentation at the time, but it was never provided," he said. It wasn't until November 2025 that Zhou Yuan claimed to have received a "Notice of Termination (Conclusion) of Labor Contract" from the Dianzhong New Area Human Resources Development Center, which announced the termination citing reasons such as "failure to conduct investment promotion work according to职责 (zhize), serious violation of rules and regulations, serious violation of labor discipline," and the expiration of the contract. "We immediately sent a letter demanding the factual basis, procedures, and opinions for these three allegations. To date, there has been no response," Zhou Yuan questioned, "If you accuse me of disciplinary violations, you must provide evidence and follow procedures. You can't dismiss first and then propose 'charges'—isn't that putting the cart before the horse?"
Zhou Yuan indicated that he and the other two former directors had repeatedly reported and communicated with relevant departments in writing but received no updates on the matter. Zhou Yuan detailed the specific changes in his salary since appointment to the reporter. After formally taking office following organizational procedures and公示 (gongshi) in August 2020, he stated that the promised 800,000 yuan annual salary was divided into two parts: a 200,000 yuan base salary and a 600,000 yuan performance salary. "From August 2020 to the end of 2021, this annual salary was paid normally and in full. After that, the performance portion was completely suspended," he said. In early 2022, the three were notified of an adjustment to the salary structure: an annual base salary of 480,000 yuan and a performance salary of 320,000 yuan, keeping the total annual salary unchanged. "But in reality, only 32,000 yuan was paid monthly. After five months, it was reduced again to over 16,000 yuan, performance pay was entirely suspended, resulting in a difference of over 500,000 yuan from the promise," Zhou Yuan revealed, adding that the adjustment was conveyed only orally, without any formal document.
Zhou Yuan told the reporter that on March 20, 2024, he and the other two former directors were verbally informed by relevant leadership that they were to be dismissed due to "failing assessments for two consecutive years." He stated that before 2021, he could receive assessment-based pay according to the results, but "the unit provided no written assessment results whatsoever for 2022." He questioned the process, "We were formally appointed through open social recruitment and按照规定 (angen guiding) selection assessments. Our dismissal should also follow relevant organizational procedures; an individual alone cannot decide this. We also demanded a formal written notice, but to no avail. Then, a year and a half later, we suddenly received a 'Notice of Termination (Conclusion) of Labor Contract' citing reasons like 'failure to conduct investment promotion work according to职责 (zhize), serious violation of rules and regulations, and serious violation of labor discipline'."
At the February 2nd court hearing, the Dianzhong New Area Human Resources Center pointed out that the three individuals had absenteeism records of 7 to 17 working days respectively during their tenure, failed to perform investment promotion duties according to their responsibilities, and had seriously violated rules, regulations, and labor discipline, therefore justifying the lawful termination of their contracts. However, the three defendants argued that the aforementioned violations did not exist. "The nature of our work inherently involves frequent外出 (waichu) [business trips]. Using access control records instead of attendance records to prove absenteeism is itself unreasonable," Zhou Yuan stated, adding, "Moreover, it was never previously agreed that we must clock in daily," and "the so-called rules and regulations do not apply to our rank."
Zhou Yuan mentioned that according to the relevant recruitment documents at the time, the three positions were for investment promotion directors for the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta regions, with duty stations supposed to be at the New Area's offices in Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen, respectively. "But in fact, since taking office, I have been working in Kunming, while my home is in Beijing," he told the reporter, noting that he was on annual leave and had just returned to his home in Beijing when he received the dismissal notice. After his leave ended, he returned to his office in Kunming to discuss the matter with relevant leaders. "On the afternoon of November 27 last year, I found I couldn't open the office door lock; it seemed to have been changed. I couldn't get in, and couldn't perform a proper handover of work," he said. The reporter also verified the events with the other two individuals involved, both of whom confirmed that the above events were true.
Regarding the incident, on January 23, the reporter called the Dianzhong New Area Administrative Committee. A staff member claimed unfamiliarity with the specific situation and suggested inquiring with the Human Resources Development Center. Subsequently, the reporter called the Dianzhong New Area Human Resources Development Center. A staff member, after verifying from multiple sources, responded: confirming that the aforementioned individuals were indeed personnel who had signed labor contracts, and stating that "the Dianzhong New Area Human Resources Center is an independent legal entity capable of bearing relevant responsibilities. On November 18, 2025, the Dianzhong New Area terminated the labor relationship with the above three individuals in accordance with the Labor Contract Law and relevant regulations; there is no欠薪 (qianxin) [wage arrears] behavior."
A legal professional interviewed by the reporter, Hu Lei, a lawyer from Beijing Zeheng Law Firm, stated, "The appeals of the three parties have sufficient合理性 (helixing) [reasonableness]." Hu Lei further explained that the payment and deduction of performance-based salary must be premised on a legally effective performance assessment system. Although the employer stipulated an annual salary system in the recruitment announcement and noted that the performance portion is subject to work performance assessment results, this does not grant them the right to arbitrarily deduct performance pay. "If the employer cannot provide evidence related to performance assessment but withholds or refuses to pay performance salary on the grounds of failing the assessment, it is typically deemed an illegal withholding of wages," he said. Additionally, Hu Lei pointed out that the dismissal procedure used by the Dianzhong New Area against the three former "directors" might have flaws. "Issuing a written notice a full year and a half after a verbal dismissal, and with the reasons listed in the notice unsupported by any evidence, clearly violates the organizational procedures that should be followed for major personnel appointments and dismissals. The parties' choice to pursue labor arbitration after repeated unsuccessful written reports and communications constitutes正当维权行为 (zhengdang weiquan xingwei) [legitimate rights protection actions]."
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