Workplace Safety in China Township and village enterprises (TVEs) Have experienced dramatic growth since the concept was developed when China started.

Workplace Safety in China

Workplace Safety in China Township and village enterprises (TVEs)

Have experienced dramatic growth since the concept was developed when China started economic reforms in 1978

Originally TVEs were conceived as enterprises to be run by townships or villages to absorb the surplus rural labour force

TVEs They are a major source of employment,

creating more than 120 million jobs.

TVEs cover manufacturing, construction, mining, transport and communications, commerce, services and other businesses.

Their adverse impact on the environment has become a major concern both for the Government and the public.

Worker Safety and Health The protection of workers' safety and

health lags far behind the economic performance of TVEs.

Causes include general lack of awareness, low level of education of managers and workers, outdated technology, & non-availability of technical and financial support.

Occupational accidents According to officially

available national statistics on occupational accidents in China the total number of fatalities in TVEs is almost 10,000 every year.

China Versus the United States

According to an MOL study, the annual rate of fatal accidents in TVEs is around 1 per thousand workers.

The fatal accident rate in the United States is around 4 per 100,000 workers

To equate this to China’s rate, the US rate is around .04 per 1,000 workers placing China’s TVEs rate at 25 times greater than the US rate.

Reporting Problems The actual number of fatal accidents in

TVEs could be much higher as many construction accidents might not be properly reflected in the figures due to the complicated reporting system.

Furthermore, the construction industry employs a large number of migrant workers whose deaths might not be properly reported.

Occupational diseases Medical surveillance of workers

exposed to health hazards is carried out through the nationwide network of disease-prevention stations.

In 1995, out of the 25,133,577 workers exposed to health hazards only 3,835,225 underwent medical examination.

The examination rate was 15.3 per cent, the lowest in recent years.

Migrant Workers

In occupational disease prevention, one important concern is the large number of migrant workers in TVEs.

Male migrant workers are commonly found in the most hazardous industries, particularly construction and mining.

Discrimination Against Migrant Workers

Migrant workers are usually not covered by social insurance like old age insurance, even if such schemes exist at the location of TVEs.

Their migrant status results in a lower level of attention to their protection, as well as practical difficulties in promoting OSH through training and awareness raising.

Working-environment monitoring and medical

surveillance A MOH report revealed that only 36.89

per cent of sampled points in 2,593 TVEs cleared the national exposure limits of occupational health hazards such as benzene, asbestos, chromium, lead, dust and noise.

Linking the working and general environment

The adverse environmental impact of many TVEs on the community has been a matter of serious concern.

Work and the Environment

In July 1996 the National Environmental Protection Agency closed down about 1,000 small paper mills in Huaihe River Valley, following the closure of nearly 400 pollution-causing small factories in the past two years.

The working environment is an integral aspect of the general

environment

The adverse environmental impact and many occupational hazards are due, in part, to the low level of technology used, exacerbated by the transfer of harmful or toxic-waste-generating urban enterprises to rural areas, sometimes without installing appropriate safety-production facilities.

Essential work-related welfare facilities

China has been paying considerable attention to ensuring that essential work-related welfare facilities are provided to workers in SOEs.

Access to adequate and clean toilets, safe drinking water, lockers and showers, for example, may still be regarded by some TVEs, particularly the small ones, as a luxury rather than a necessity.

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