Occupational Disease: Biggest Threat to Chinese Workers

Occupational diseases have become the biggest threat to workers' health as well as the leading cause of early retirement due to disability, according to the Ministry of Health (MOH).

A MOH official warned that the development boom of private and township enterprises would make the situation even worse because the general job safety requirements are often limited in those enterprises.

"It's very common in some areas that plant owners sacrifice workers' health for making more money," Vice Health Minister Yin Dakui said, though he stressed that most State-owned enterprises have effectively controlled occupational hazards.

Incomplete statistics from the MOH showed that pneumoconiosis or black lung, a deadly illness occurring among miners, has preyed upon at least 420,000 workers and killed about 130,000. About 15, 000 to 20,000 new cases are reported each year.

Accidental poisoning commonly reported in shoe-making and garment factories was another leading killer, claiming several hundred lives every year, Yin said.

He urged some 30,000 professionals involved in supervision and prevention of occupational hazards to enhance their law enforcement in their work.

The country's highest legislative body will discuss a draft law on prevention of occupational disease, giving laborers a more powerful legal weapon for protecting their health, he said.

Back to top
Copyright by People's Daily Online, All rights reserved