The labor department of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region recently issued legislation requiring construction companies to pay a deposit in a bid to guarantee timely pay for their workers.

The regulation said the required deposit will equal 2 percent of a construction company's winning bid price for projects.

Construction companies need only pay half the required deposit amount if they have paid their construction workers timely over the past two consecutive years. Companies who have paid workers on time for the last three consecutive years will be exempted from the rule.

But if an exempted company is found withholding wages from workers, it has to pay the full deposit amount in the next year, the regulation said.