"China State Construction Fifth Engineering Division Workers Strike at Africa 'Belt and Road' Project", Yesterday Project, 4 November 2025

On November 3, Chinese construction workers at the China State Construction Fifth Engineering Division’s (CSCEC Fifth Division) “520 Hospital Project” in Algeria went on strike to demand unpaid wages. The workers gathered at the project office, calling on the Third Company of the Fifth Division to settle months of wage arrears.

According to one worker, although he has already returned to China, he is still owed five months of wages totaling about 80,000 yuan (approximately USD 11,000), which remain unpaid. Another worker said that after working on the project for two months, he not only received no pay but actually lost around 24,000 yuan due to unpaid expenses.

Photos uploaded by workers to social media show one of them wearing a T-shirt with slogans reading “CSCEC Fifth Division Third Company, Pay Back Our Hard-Earned Wages, Algeria 520 Hospital,” displaying it publicly at the construction site to protest.

Public information indicates that the project, officially named the “520-Bed Military Hospital in Algiers, the Capital of Algeria,” is a key project under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, undertaken by the China State Construction Fifth Engineering Division.