Legislation used to control hazards in the workplace in P. R. of China - Essay Example

Legislation used to control physical agent hazards in the workplace in P. R. of China    Introduction: Each and every year there are number of incidents which are being recorded and published under the Health and Safety Executive which collects the figures related to workplace deaths and injuries occurring due to accidents and in most cases ill-health (Dalton, 1998, p.207). In the year 2001 alone the Chinese Ministry of Health received reports of about 13, 218 cases of such occupational diseases, which have increased by 13 percent when compared to previous year (2000). (Su, n.d, p.302) Among these cases recorded, 2,352 of the workers died due to the occupational diseases. But it can be easily assumed that for a large country like People’s Republic of China the actual numbers of workplace related hazards are even more. The different employers those who provided their workers (the workers who are regularly exposed to severe conditions for workplace hazard) with periodic health examinations comprise of only 57.2% for the state-owned enterprises, about 1.9% in case of the privately owned organizations and only 2.7% in case of the foreign-invested enterprises. (Su, n.d, p.302) Thus it becomes very clear that during this upsurge of economic development of the nation the increasing number of workplace hazards is definitely throwing a challenge towards China’s occupational health and safety structure. These loopholes in the work safety awareness in the country, backed by poor infrastructure in many cases have resulted in many series losses both in the regards of lives and assets. Now it has to be seen what legislation and safety regulation the Chinese government have adopted to combat the situation. The question addressed here is - whether the steps taken by the Chinese Government is adequate to combat the situation of the ever-rising health hazards of the workers? The fact that should to be considered is that the Chinese regulatory bodies have made late attempts to incorporate few rules and regulations in favor of the workers, which can always be considered as a positive aspect. Critical factors: Before going into the details of the legislative rules and regulations and the new scientific attempts made by the government the report must firstly analyze some critical factors, unique to the workforce of the nation. Primarily it has to be noted that with the advent of industrialization in the previous decade there had been a rapid transfer of the labor force from agricultural to non-agricultural work especially in the rural areas. (Su, n.d, p.302). This actually signifies the advent of industrialization in the People’s Republic of China. This factor itself can be regarded as a major cause for the unstructured planning of the work allocation, as the change was sudden and abrupt. The second major factor, which affected the labor market in China, is the continued migration of workers from lesser-developed areas to the urban areas in China. This reflects the uneven development of industry in the country This is also a critical factor, as with the lack of development the work forces gets concentrated in one particular area which compels the authority to consider the interests of the workers on a whole. When the concentration of workers increases in one particular place, the control parameters are bound to get loose. The third critical factor that had been identified is the lack of occupational health professionals and proper technological resources in the workplaces of China. This is the reason being most of the workplaces fails to identify the proper environment and pattern of working, which would be suitable for the workers. There is another administrative level issue that had been identified. The critical factor, which contributes most to the increasing number of workplace hazards, is the inconsistency on the part of the Chinese government to enforce health and safety laws and the government also lacks in proper monitoring, inspection and over and above taking rectification measures so that the overall situation is improved.   Though the above information reflects a very negative scenario about the workforce rules and regulations enforced but the Chinese Government, but there are certain serious steps taken the Government till date whose implications we will be discussing in the next section. The basic environmental health issues are something that every country must consider while designing their workforce law. (Yassi and Kjellstrom, 2001). The next section will give a critical analysis of the legislations issued by the Chinese Government and how these regulations actually help the workers to combat the situation in the workplaces. Legislation of Occupational Health and safety Regulation: From the year 1990 the Chinese Government has included the socialist market economy under the control of the rule of law. (Su, n.d, p.303) The Labor Law of the People’s Republic of China was introduced on July 5, 1994 and was in full effect from the January 1st, the next year, i.e. 1995. (Su, n.d, p.303) This introduction of the law laid the basic foundation for the other regulatory enforcements, which came into effect after 1994. The Law introduced by the Government of People’s Republic of China on Occupational Disease Prevention and control came to effect from May 1, 2002. (Su, N.d, p.303). The other law, which followed closely, is the Law on safe Production or the “Safe Production Law” which came in effect from the month of June 2002. This particular law covered around ninety seven provisions which covered almost every aspects like the safety measures of the work units, the worker’s rights, supervision on the production’s safety, rescue activities at the time of disaster etc. (Su, n.d, p.303). There are certain regulations promulgated by the State Council as well. They introduced the Regulations on safe Management of dangerous Chemicals. The purpose of this law is to strengthen the control over safety measures that are in relation with the exposures to dangerous chemicals. This regulation actually tries to provide guarantee for the safety of the lives of the workers, the assets of the organizations and as well as the environment. (Su, n.d, p.303) Thus the State Council regulates the production, the nature of operation, the storage system, the transportation of the chemical products and also the use and disposal of chemical products within the country. This introduction of the law may be regarded as the first step taken by the government in favor of the workers of China. But still there were many loopholes in the system where the workers were still in a threat of getting exposed to critical conditions. Thus in this case the Disease Control Law can be considered as a milestone, which actually incorporated a new dimension under the legislation. The Regulation on Labor Protection supplemented by the Disease control Law also regulates the use of Toxic Substances in Workplace. The health authorities of the government must license the organizations that will use toxic substances for their operation and also they (the organizations) should define and produce a list of toxic substances used and show it to the Ministry of Health and other departments under the State Council. There are also existing Regulations on Protection against Radioisotopes and other radiation emitting equipments, introduced by the State Council. These laws actually did contribute to a great extent to improve the working conditions of the workers in China. The government supervises and manages the protection from hazards arising out of radiation. The regulation itself incorporates the health and safety issue of the workers, the general public, and the environment as a whole.   The Occupational Disease Control Law actually defines the occupational health rights of the workers. The law also ensures that the employers or the organizations fulfill their obligations and duties in terms of protecting the health of the employees and also the environment. The law clearly states and provides the principles which governs and controls the occupational disease, the protective measures that the organization should adopt, hazard monitoring and also diagnosis of these occupational diseases. But before the application and prior to the enforcement of inspection by Health Authority the law must first define the occupational diseases. That means the occupational diseases must have a legal definition. According to the Occupational Disease Control Law of People’s Republic of China, an occupational disease can be referred to the disease resulting from exposures of the workers to the industrial dust, the radioactive equipments, lighting, noise created by any industrial equipment, hazards created from vibration in the industrial sight, as well as poisonous and harmful substances in the workplace. (Su, N.d, p.304). The Ministry of Labor and Social Security alongside with the Ministry of Labor categorized the list of legal Occupational diseases, which are eligible for ‘Occupational Disease Compensation’. The list contains one hundred fifteen diseases incurred due to the above-mentioned factors. The broad categories of diseases which are listed are, Occupational disease caused by radiation, occupational poisoning, occupational disease caused by physical factors (aviation, vibration etc), occupational disease caused by biological agents, Occupational cancers etc.   Though the government has designed a compensation policy it is important to know that most of the diseases are incurable. For that reason the Law gives much stress on the prevention part. The law emphasizes on the fact that the government should formulate proper occupational disease prevention plans and should successfully incorporate them in their (government’s) economical and social development plans. It should put these plans into practices as soon as possible. The law states the workplace operating in the country should meet the basic occupational health requirements and few other factors listed below. The management of the organization must regulate and control the intensity of the hazardous substance in the workplace so that it does not harm the workers. The organization must be equipped with a sound occupational-disease-prevention facility The production layout in the manufacturing industries must be designed in a proper manner so that the harmful and the harmless operations are distinctly separated. The workplace must contain appropriate sanitation facility. The employer must make it sure that the equipments and tools used in the workplace comply with the standards so that there are no chances of injury for the workers. (Su, n.d, p.304) The rights of the workers are also stated in the law and the government should also make it clear that all the workers, working in the industry in both the urban and rural sector must have a proper chance to execute their rights. The basic rights of the workers are as follows: All the workers must have an opportunity to receive occupational health and educational training. They should also have access to the occupational health services like health examination and diagnosis. Prior to joining the workers have the right to know the health effects of the hazards in their particular field of work. The workers must have the right to criticize, accuse and reject orders, which he or she thinks may be injurious to their health. The law also gives the workers the right to participate in democratic management of the organization’s occupational health practice. (Su, n.d, p.304)   From the study so far it is clear that the law successfully incorporates almost all the aspects regarding the control parameters and the worker’s right. It is the role of the Chinese Government to ensure that these laws are successfully enforced in the manufacturing sectors of the country. The legislations are closely bound to the practical scenario and are also explicit in terms of defining the control parameters. The list of such parameters is also exclusive and over and above it also protects the interest of the local people apart from protecting the worker’s right. Thus it can be seen that the Chinese Government has made valuable contribution by expanding the scope of their rules and regulations and it can be said that these legislations are now slightly inclined in the favor of the workers. This parameter was missing from the earlier attempts that the government was taking to protect the labors. But the main concern still remains, as the industrial expansion is uneven in the country. As long as the work force concentration is not uniform, the chances of exploitation remain. Safety Engineering in China: A new attempt Safety engineer is a new discipline in Chinas engineering community and it is related to the technical aspects of worker’s safety in the workplace. (Shuhong and Yansun, n.d). For the establishment of a skilled and powerful group on occupational safety and health, during the mid 1990s the Chinese Society of Science and technology on Labor Protection had given advice to government regarding the safety issues of engineer discipline. It has been many years since the Chinese Society of Science and technology on Labor Protection organized the technical expertise to develop a training package for safety engineer. During the 1990s, the former Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Personnel organized groups of experts to investigate the report provided by the Chinese Society of Science and technology on Labor Protection on the technical aspects of labor protection. The results of investigation were positive as the ministry approved of the requirements. Thus in the year 1997 the Chinese government issued a Safety Engineer and Senior Safety Engineer Qualification Requirement. But the real work started in the year 2001, after State Work Safety Administration was established in the P. R (People’s Republic) of China. (Shuhong and Yansun, n.d).   Conclusion: From the study it is being observed that the Legislations used to control physical agent hazards in the workplace in P. R. of China are strong and includes almost all the parameters required for controlling the situation, but there are still major disadvantages in the system. This is due to the fact that most of the workers and laborers working in the industrial sites are still not aware of their health rights and the numbers of victims are increasing day by day. Also the inconsistency of development among the urban and the rural areas of China are increasing the concentration of workers in one particular area and hence the employers are becoming the authority. For that reason in many cases the workers unknowingly are getting exposed to health issues. The enforcement of laws does not help in those scenarios. But the positive aspect is that the Chinese Society of Science and technology on Labor Protection is trying to introduce qualified professionals who can guide the industrialists and the workers to develop a healthy working atmosphere.  Thus the Regulation on Labor Protection and the Disease control Law reflects the change in outlook and it is definitely a positive sign that most of the aspects of the physical hazards are being considered in each case. The report also shows how distinctly the regulatory body of the country has identified the critical health issues arising from the workplace and subsequently how they have prepared an exclusive list of diseases for which they can claim compensation from the authority. But as most of the diseases listed are incurable, the government should take special care to avoid the cases. For this reason the government should be more active and the first and foremost step that they can take is to spread the industrial wave across the country. In this way the earlier problem of over concentration of labor can be eliminated. Equal distribution of labor throughout the country will enable the control parameters to work more efficiently. From the overall study it can be concluded that the Chinese regulatory body has done its work to a significant extent and now what remains is the role of the Government to compliment the attempt.   References 1. Bugler CM. N.d. “Fighting Gender discrimination in Chinese workplace”. BC.com. website:< http://www.bc.edu/bc_org/avp/law/lwsch/journals/bctwj/20_2/03_TXT.htm> (accessed on October 14, 2009). 2. Dalton  AJP. 1998. “ Safety, health and environmental hazards at the workplace”, Cengage Learning EMEA:  United Kingdom 3. Mohan D, Tiwari G. .2000. “ Injury prevention and control”,  CRC Press: United States 4. Shuhong Y, Yansun X.  N.d. “ Safety Engineering in China”: Chinese Society of Science and technology on Labor Protection, China 5. Stellman JM. 1998. Encyclopedia of occupational health and safety, International Labor Organization, London, United Kingdom 6. Su Z,  N.d. “ Occupational Health and Safety Legislation and Implementation in China”. INT J OCCUP ENVIRON HEALTH: website < www.ijoeh.com>  (accessed on October 14, 2009). 7. Yassi A, Kjellstrom T. 2001. Basic environmental health. Oxford University Press: US. Read More