A worker cleaning windows and the wall of a building. The National Occupational Disease Prevention Planning Institution says it has recorded more than 500,000 cases of occupational disease or injury since 1978 and the number is rising. An Xin / for China Daily

“Business take profit as the most important and only sign of success, which leads to so many occupational illness cases.”

Huang Leping

Director, Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Study Center of Labor

Law center draws attention to long delays over compensation claims

BEIJING - Former hotel worker Zhang Qiang had to wait 1,461 days - four years - before receiving a work-related injury identification letter.

"The waiting was too heavy a burden," said the 56-year-old who had his feet and legs burnt by a toxic chemical while working for a State-owned hotel in Beijing.

Zhang was never properly compensated because of the long wait for the official documentation.

He experienced the longest delay for the letter in a survey by the Beijing Yilian Legal Aid and Study Center of Labor, which supplies a legal aid service for employees suffering from labor disputes free of charge.

The center released the report on occupational ailments in February. It showed there was a serious problem caused by delays in sending out documentation.

The survey was conducted between December 2010 and February 2011. The results were drawn from personal experience, media reports and cases from other nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Occupational injury is the main area in which lawyers from the center work. They have dealt with nearly 400 cases since 2007, when the center registered as an NGO.

"The center should be professional over labor disputes and related research is necessary," said Huang Leping, director of the center.

Clients need a work-related injury identification letter to get compensation from their employer.

According to the center's survey, 57.8 percent of respondents waited more than 30 days for their letter.

Zhang, whose case is considered extreme, had to sell his house in downtown Beijing at a less-than-ideal price to cover his treatment because he was not allowed to sue for compensation without the identification letter under current law.

Now Zhang is waiting for the result of labor arbitration - and has been doing so for four months.

"None of us are sure when Zhang will get the result. The arbitration agency is too busy. We have no choice but to wait. It may take three months, or half a year," said Liu Shengqi, who has worked alongside Zhang for the entire period.

Liu has worked for five years at the center that specializes in settling work injury disputes.

The legal process to deal with work-related injury takes so long in China, because of the time-consuming task of applying for evidence.

At least 10 items are needed, including an official diagnosis, the work-related injury identification letter, an assessment of the ability to work and a lawsuit. Normally, employees need to spend an average of 1,149 days to complete all the legal processes.

Because of its complexity, many employees who suffered from occupational injury fail to complete the process.

Zhang Haichao revealed the seriousness of the situation in 2009. The migrant worker, who developed pneumonoconiosis but was refused an occupational disease diagnosis, demanded that doctors open his chest to prove his claim.

He finally received compensation from his employer after his dramatic action.

As more work injury victims begin to surface, occupational injuries and diseases are emerging as a serious problem in China, Huang Leping said.

The State Council created the National Occupational Disease Prevention Planning in 2009. It says it has recorded more than 500,000 cases of occupational disease or injury since 1978 and the number is rising.

Statistics from the Ministry of Health show that about 200 million laborers face the threat of developing ailments in the workplace in about 16 million enterprises in which poisonous and harmful materials are used.

The report from Huang's center shows that the average age of patients is 37 years and six months and 80.1 percent of them are male. Migrant workers account for the majority of victims, at 84.3 percent.

The majority of patients work in mining, manufacturing and electronics. The survey also shows that 29.6 percent of the patients' employers are State-owned or foreign enterprises.

One recent example of large-scale harm involves a global corporation.

Apple Inc admitted in February that 137 workers at the Suzhou facility of Wintek, which is one of Apple's vendors, "had suffered adverse health effects following exposure to n-hexane". N-hexane is a solvent used to clean computer screens. It is so poisonous that manufacturers are advised to use other substances or at least offer protective clothing and masks to workers.

"Businesses take profit as the most important and only sign of success, which leads to so many occupational illness cases," Huang said.

Many businesses use banned chemicals and do not offer the necessary protective facilities. In the survey, 71.8 percent of respondents said their employers did not offer any protection.

The government should look into work-related injuries as a social issue, Huang said.

Legislation should be used to solve the problem. The China Occupational Disease Prevention and Control Law was enacted in May 2002, but is inadequate to the task of meeting the needs of current society, Huang said.

Work-related injury identification should be updated, he added, and his organization is helping to achieve that for the victims.

"I think an NGO should be responsible toward the whole of society and we offer suggestions to the government regularly to promote changes in the law," Huang said.

原文链接：http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-03/14/content_12164765.htm#