Employers in China will be required to do more to help workers prevent on-the-job accidents and diseases under a national law expected to be adopted late this week.
Lawmakers attending the 24th session of the Standing Committee of the Ninth National People's Congress (NPC) started group deliberations Tuesday on a draft law on the prevention of work-related accidents and treatment of occupational diseases, reported today's China Daily.
The English-language newspaper quoted the draft law article as saying that when an employer opens a factory or a company in China, occupational health facilities and insurance for industrial injuries should be provided for employees at the same time.
To protect employees' health rights, the law should highlight prevention measures, said Wu Jieping, vice-chairman of NPC Standing Committee.
For example, China has witnessed an increasing number of workplace poisoning accidents in recent years, which usually happened in small and medium-sized township enterprises where many farmers-turned-workers are employed.
Wang Tao, a lawmaker, said that the state should encourage research on the causes of work-related accidents.
(eastday.com October 24, 2001)
