Thousands of coal miners in China have launched a strike protesting against unpaid wages.

The miners working at Longmay Group’s Shuangyashan mine held up banners and marched through the streets of a mining town in northeastern China over the weekend.

Following a decline in China’s economy, the government is trying to reduce overcapacity in labour-intensive industries such as coal and steel.

Some of the workers claimed that they are owed unpaid wages, while some are angry that their pay has been cut.

"Some of the workers claimed that they are owed unpaid wages, while some are angry that their pay has been cut."

Heilongjiang Governor Lu Hao said that a fall in the prices of oil and coal have compounded problems for the province.

In 2015, Longmay announced plans to implement a ‘wartime work atmosphere’ to reduce its 248,000 headcount by 100,000, Reuters reported.

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The company has been witnessing losses since 2012.

Lu Hao said that some of the Longmay coal miners will be transferred to farming.

Earlier in March 2016, China announced to make 1.8 million workers in the coal and steel industries redundant as part of its £10bn restructure programme, following a slump in the country’s manufacturing activity.

The central government is planning to allocate ¥100bn ($15.27bn) over the next two years to relocate workers laid off as a result of the country’s efforts to reduce overcapacity.