论文部分内容阅读
While working as a miner at the Jiulishan Coal Mine in central China’s Henan Province from 2006， Chen Tao developed a persistent cough which deteriorated progressively. In 2013， the 34-year-old was diagnosed with first-stage pneumoconiosis， a lung disease caused by exposure to certain kinds of dust particles.
Pneumoconiosis， also called black lung disease， hit the headlines in China in 2009， when Zhang Haichao， another Henan resident who worked for a local company making fire-resistant materials in Xinmi County， contracted it but could not make his employer pay him compensation. In a bid to prove that he had dust in his lungs acquired during his three years with the company， the then 28-year-old Zhang underwent openchest surgery.
After the media took up his case， eventually the company and the local government paid him 615，000 yuan （$91，111）.
Disease and compensation
The Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases， which was amended in July 2016， stipulates that companies must provide work injury insurance for employees. The work injury insurance fund must cover treatment expenses as well as compensation for those diagnosed with occupational diseases.
An injured worker could receive compensation equal to seven to 27 times the monthly salary based on the severity of the injury or disease. If the employing company does not pay for the insurance， it will be responsible for all medical expenses.
Despite the law， the real situation remains complicated. Employees have to provide documents， including proof of employment， health check results and workplace risk evaluations， before they can apply for an occupational disease diagnosis.
“In many cases， employers refuse to hand over the documents， and some small factories do not even conduct regular health checks and workplace risk evaluations for their employees，” said Yu Wenlan， a health expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a result， only about 10 percent of employees receive regular occupational health services， Yu said.
In the case of Chen， he has not received any compensation so far. He told Beijing Review that he and another 50 workers from the mine， who were also diagnosed with black lung disease， applied for compensation in early 2013 but are still waiting to hear from the company.
Figures from the State Administration of Work Safety （SAWS） show that nearly 900，000 cases of occupational diseases had been reported by the end of 2015. Of them， 95 percent were cases of pneumoconiosis. Nearly 26，000 new cases of occupational diseases are reported each year. “Casualties from occupational diseases have surpassed those caused by workplace accidents，” said Wu Zongzhi， Director of SAWS’ Department of Occupational Health.
Prevention of occupational diseases is a long-discussed issue among lawmakers， employers and workers， but many believe the issue is still not getting enough attention.
“Previously， more emphasis was placed on the prevention of workplace accidents. The prevention of occupational diseases has long been regarded as a dispensable issue by many employers，” said Liu Tiemin， a researcher with the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology.
On December 18， 2016， the State Council， China’s cabinet， published a guideline on the improvement of workplace safety， saying control of occupational diseases would be beefed up. If enterprises with workplaces likely to cause occupational diseases fail to improve technology innovation and transformation， they will be phased out.
It also says local authorities have the responsibility to support research into occupational diseases as well as the responsibility for their prevention， diagnosis and treatment. The guideline called for expanding health insurance to cover occupational diseases.
“Occupational diseases generally have a longer incubation period. If we do not focus our efforts on this problem now， it will be impossible to solve it in the future，” Liu said.
He suggests a special government department be set up to regulate workplace hazards and reduce red tape. “The irritants causing occupational diseases can also cause accidents in the workplace. So reducing bureaucracy would improve the efficiency of government supervision，” he pointed out.
Chen Jingyu， an expert in respiratory diseases with the Wuxi People’s Hospital in east China’s Jiangsu Province， believes precautions are important in preventing occupational diseases. “The government should tighten its supervision of employers so that a safer working environment can be created，” Chen said.
Tang Chun， an expert with the China Occupational Safety and Health Association， suggests expanding work injury insurance coverage to reduce the financial burden on those that contract occupational diseases and struggle to get medical treatment.
“Today， migrant workers have become the most vulnerable group to be affected by occupational diseases， especially the black lung disease. The government and the employers of such workers have the responsibility of providing them with insurance，”Tang said. Threat of overwork
The death of a website editor in 2016 once again drew public attention to the health risks posed by overwork.
Jin Bo， Deputy Editor in Chief of Tianya.cn， a leading online forum， died in a subway station in Beijing on June 29. A colleague of Jin told Shanghai-based news website ThePaper.cn that Jin often stayed up late to work overtime， which might have led to his sudden death.
In 2016， a report issued by 51job.com， a major human resources service provider， stated that IT employees work in one of the highest pressure environments in China， which could easily lead to premature death. Other risky professions include those of police officers， journalists and doctors. The term “death by overwork” comes from the Japanese word karoshi， which means sudden occupational mortality. With the fast development of the economy and the rapid pace of life， overworking to death has become a growing concern in China. According to a report by Guangming Daily， work pressure has caused the death of more than 600，000 Chinese employees， with more urban white-collar workers suffering the ills of overwork. However， laws in the Chinese mainland do not include overwork death in the list of officially recognized occupational diseases.
According to the Regulations on WorkRelated Injury Insurance， “sudden death during work time and at the workplace” can be regarded as due to work-related injury.
“This is inadequate because overwork death may happen while one is resting at home，” said Nie Cailian， a lawyer with Nanjing-based Jiangsu Guohao Law Firm.
The Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases says occupational diseases “refer to those diseases caused by dust， radioactive substances and other poisonous and harmful factors during work activities organized by state-owned enterprises， civil service units and other private sector organizations”.
“Overworking death is often caused by work pressure. But since it does not fall into the category of poisonous substances， it is unlikely to be considered as an occupational disease，” said Xu Yong， Deputy Director of the Labor and Social Security Committee with the Jiangsu Lawyers Association.
According to Xu， the list of occupational diseases has 130 conditions classified into 10 categories. “Due to complications， it was hard to include overwork death in it，” he said.
However， Li Can， a judge with the Qinhuai District People’s Court in Nanjing， said overwork death should be added to the list urgently， because judges often face difficulties trying to find the relation between a person’s death and his or her job.
Nie agrees， saying that the current legal system should be improved to reduce the risk of overwork death.
“There are laws and regulations on giving employees vacation with pay. The authorities can use these to supervise employers and make sure they give employees vacation with pay，” Nie said.
The lawyer’s other suggestion is that a special agency be set up to identify overwork death and make sure employers pay compensation in such cases.
She also emphasized improving social insurance. “Social insurance is the backbone for employees，” she said. “It can help relieve some of their burden in healthcare， unemployment and maternity， which will help prevent them from working overtime under high pressure.”
Pneumoconiosis， also called black lung disease， hit the headlines in China in 2009， when Zhang Haichao， another Henan resident who worked for a local company making fire-resistant materials in Xinmi County， contracted it but could not make his employer pay him compensation. In a bid to prove that he had dust in his lungs acquired during his three years with the company， the then 28-year-old Zhang underwent openchest surgery.
After the media took up his case， eventually the company and the local government paid him 615，000 yuan （$91，111）.
Disease and compensation
The Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases， which was amended in July 2016， stipulates that companies must provide work injury insurance for employees. The work injury insurance fund must cover treatment expenses as well as compensation for those diagnosed with occupational diseases.
An injured worker could receive compensation equal to seven to 27 times the monthly salary based on the severity of the injury or disease. If the employing company does not pay for the insurance， it will be responsible for all medical expenses.
Despite the law， the real situation remains complicated. Employees have to provide documents， including proof of employment， health check results and workplace risk evaluations， before they can apply for an occupational disease diagnosis.
“In many cases， employers refuse to hand over the documents， and some small factories do not even conduct regular health checks and workplace risk evaluations for their employees，” said Yu Wenlan， a health expert with the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
As a result， only about 10 percent of employees receive regular occupational health services， Yu said.
In the case of Chen， he has not received any compensation so far. He told Beijing Review that he and another 50 workers from the mine， who were also diagnosed with black lung disease， applied for compensation in early 2013 but are still waiting to hear from the company.
Figures from the State Administration of Work Safety （SAWS） show that nearly 900，000 cases of occupational diseases had been reported by the end of 2015. Of them， 95 percent were cases of pneumoconiosis. Nearly 26，000 new cases of occupational diseases are reported each year. “Casualties from occupational diseases have surpassed those caused by workplace accidents，” said Wu Zongzhi， Director of SAWS’ Department of Occupational Health.
Prevention of occupational diseases is a long-discussed issue among lawmakers， employers and workers， but many believe the issue is still not getting enough attention.
“Previously， more emphasis was placed on the prevention of workplace accidents. The prevention of occupational diseases has long been regarded as a dispensable issue by many employers，” said Liu Tiemin， a researcher with the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology.
On December 18， 2016， the State Council， China’s cabinet， published a guideline on the improvement of workplace safety， saying control of occupational diseases would be beefed up. If enterprises with workplaces likely to cause occupational diseases fail to improve technology innovation and transformation， they will be phased out.
It also says local authorities have the responsibility to support research into occupational diseases as well as the responsibility for their prevention， diagnosis and treatment. The guideline called for expanding health insurance to cover occupational diseases.
“Occupational diseases generally have a longer incubation period. If we do not focus our efforts on this problem now， it will be impossible to solve it in the future，” Liu said.
He suggests a special government department be set up to regulate workplace hazards and reduce red tape. “The irritants causing occupational diseases can also cause accidents in the workplace. So reducing bureaucracy would improve the efficiency of government supervision，” he pointed out.
Chen Jingyu， an expert in respiratory diseases with the Wuxi People’s Hospital in east China’s Jiangsu Province， believes precautions are important in preventing occupational diseases. “The government should tighten its supervision of employers so that a safer working environment can be created，” Chen said.
Tang Chun， an expert with the China Occupational Safety and Health Association， suggests expanding work injury insurance coverage to reduce the financial burden on those that contract occupational diseases and struggle to get medical treatment.
“Today， migrant workers have become the most vulnerable group to be affected by occupational diseases， especially the black lung disease. The government and the employers of such workers have the responsibility of providing them with insurance，”Tang said. Threat of overwork
The death of a website editor in 2016 once again drew public attention to the health risks posed by overwork.
Jin Bo， Deputy Editor in Chief of Tianya.cn， a leading online forum， died in a subway station in Beijing on June 29. A colleague of Jin told Shanghai-based news website ThePaper.cn that Jin often stayed up late to work overtime， which might have led to his sudden death.
In 2016， a report issued by 51job.com， a major human resources service provider， stated that IT employees work in one of the highest pressure environments in China， which could easily lead to premature death. Other risky professions include those of police officers， journalists and doctors. The term “death by overwork” comes from the Japanese word karoshi， which means sudden occupational mortality. With the fast development of the economy and the rapid pace of life， overworking to death has become a growing concern in China. According to a report by Guangming Daily， work pressure has caused the death of more than 600，000 Chinese employees， with more urban white-collar workers suffering the ills of overwork. However， laws in the Chinese mainland do not include overwork death in the list of officially recognized occupational diseases.
According to the Regulations on WorkRelated Injury Insurance， “sudden death during work time and at the workplace” can be regarded as due to work-related injury.
“This is inadequate because overwork death may happen while one is resting at home，” said Nie Cailian， a lawyer with Nanjing-based Jiangsu Guohao Law Firm.
The Law on Prevention and Control of Occupational Diseases says occupational diseases “refer to those diseases caused by dust， radioactive substances and other poisonous and harmful factors during work activities organized by state-owned enterprises， civil service units and other private sector organizations”.
“Overworking death is often caused by work pressure. But since it does not fall into the category of poisonous substances， it is unlikely to be considered as an occupational disease，” said Xu Yong， Deputy Director of the Labor and Social Security Committee with the Jiangsu Lawyers Association.
According to Xu， the list of occupational diseases has 130 conditions classified into 10 categories. “Due to complications， it was hard to include overwork death in it，” he said.
However， Li Can， a judge with the Qinhuai District People’s Court in Nanjing， said overwork death should be added to the list urgently， because judges often face difficulties trying to find the relation between a person’s death and his or her job.
Nie agrees， saying that the current legal system should be improved to reduce the risk of overwork death.
“There are laws and regulations on giving employees vacation with pay. The authorities can use these to supervise employers and make sure they give employees vacation with pay，” Nie said.
The lawyer’s other suggestion is that a special agency be set up to identify overwork death and make sure employers pay compensation in such cases.
She also emphasized improving social insurance. “Social insurance is the backbone for employees，” she said. “It can help relieve some of their burden in healthcare， unemployment and maternity， which will help prevent them from working overtime under high pressure.”