The work safety watchdog called on Tuesday for millions of
migrant workers who are employed in the dirtiest, hardest and most
dangerous jobs to receive better and improved training.
"The training of migrant workers has become the biggest factor
in workplace safety. The pace of training must be accelerated,"
said Sun Huashan, the deputy minister of the State Administration
of Work Safety (SAWS), at a national video conference on the
issue.
Sun's call came in the wake of a spate of major accidents at
coal mines and a refinery that have claimed the lives of dozens of
workers in last two weeks.
In northwest Gansu Province, three coal mine accidents from
October 31 to November 2 killed 34 miners.
The economic boom has driven millions of farmers to factories,
construction sites and mines seeking better incomes than farming
can provide. Crucially, many of them receive little training before
taking up highly dangerous jobs.
A survey by the SAWS in nine provinces shows that migrant
workers account for 80 percent of the more than 30 million
construction workers in those provinces. They also make up 56
percent of those working in mining, dangerous chemicals and
fireworks.
The survey also shows that almost all the workers at small
collieries are migrant workers. Even in state-owned collieries,
almost all non-management jobs are filled by migrant workers.
Another survey by the SAWS shows 90 percent of the accidents are
due to human error, and that 80 percent of said accidents occur in
workplaces dominated by migrant workers.
The SAWS earlier issued guidelines on training migratory
workers. These stated migratory workers in dangerous industries
must receive no less than 72 hours of safety training before they
begin work. For those in the construction industry, the minimum
requirement is 32 hours.
The guidelines also require no less than 20 hours of safety
training for workers each year.
Sun said the work safety watchdog will step up enforcement of
these woeful guidelines.
(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2006)