With the country's economy rocketing ahead, work-related
illnesses continue to claim lives and cost the State a fortune,
posing a threat to social harmony and stability.
Since the authorities set up a system for reporting work-related
illnesses in the 1950s, some 670,000 cases of diseases attributable
to workplace hazards have been reported, statistics from the
Ministry of Health (MOH) show.
Among them, pneumoconiosis, or black lung disease, which is
caused by long-term exposure to mineral or metallic dust, affected
at least 610,000 people, of which 140,000 have died.
"More than a public health hazard, the grim situation of
occupational diseases also poses a threat to China's overall
development and social harmony," said Vice-Minister of Health Jiang
Zuojun.
At the moment, some 200 million Chinese, particularly migrant
workers, are at risk of contracting occupational diseases. Most of
those people work for medium and small-sized industrial
enterprises, according to the MOH.
According to official data, economic losses caused by
occupational diseases and workplace injuries amount to 300 billion
yuan ($39 billion), every year, representing about 1/60 of the
GDP.
Beyond the human and financial costs, such illnesses also make
the country less competitive in the international arena, said Su
Zhi, deputy director of the bureau of health supervision, which is
affiliated to the MOH.
"Some foreign countries regularly find fault with China's labor
conditions, including work-related illnesses, whenever a trade
dispute occurs," said Su, adding that there were concerns of a
potential labor shortage by 2015.
Faced with the growing frequency of health problems within the
working population and a rapidly aging society, the economy could
soon be plagued by unsustainable labor resources.
Despite efforts to reverse the situation, the country's ability
to control and prevent occupational diseases still lags far behind
that of many other countries, said Li Tao, director of the national
institute of occupational health and poison control, which is under
the center for disease control.
"In the uphill battle against work-related diseases, the
government should pay more attention to prevention based on
international experiences that have proved effective," Li said.
He also said the government should consider shouldering the
medical fees of people who have fallen sick because of their work.
At present, labor insurance or employers cover the fees, but only
if a contract is signed beforehand.
"It occasionally happens that migrant laborers who do not have
contracts and who toil hard for meager payment are left hanging by
cash-thirsty bosses. Nobody is willing to foot their medical bills,
leaving them in poverty, " Li said.
The law on occupational disease prevention took effect in May
2002. It was hailed by many experts as a comprehensive approach to
dealing with work-related illnesses, but not many people have heard
of it.
(China Daily May 9, 2007)