A seminar was held in Beijing?Thursday to mark
the World Day for Safety and Health at Work, which falls on April
28 every year, and safety in China's booming construction sector
was identified as a focus.
"Lack of safety awareness among construction
workers, especially migrant workers, is a major factor behind the
high number of accidents," said Lin Yisheng, deputy director of the
Department of International Cooperation under the State
Administration of Work Safety (SAWS).
"Inferior safety equipment is another major
factor," said Sha Xiaolin, a board director of the Shanghai-based
Linzheng Safety Equipment Co.
The event was jointly organized by the SAWS, the
Ministry of Construction and the International Labor
Organization.
Last year there were 1,144 construction-related
accidents nationwide, resulting in a total of 1,324 deaths, down
11.5 percent and 13.1 percent respectively on 2003.
Of these, 42 accidents resulted in the deaths of
three or more workers and were classed as major accidents, a fall
of 12.5 percent from the previous year. These major accidents
claimed 175 lives, an 18.6 percent decrease.
Despite the falls, the number of
construction-related accidents is still considered too high.
From January to March this year, there were 150
accidents on construction sites, resulting in 184 deaths.
China has nearly 40 million construction workers,
more than 80 percent of whom are migrant workers, most of whom have
had no safety training.
To reduce costs and pursue profits, many employers
arm their workers with cheap poor-quality safety equipment, said
Sha.
Currently the construction sector is the third
biggest industrial killer in China behind the transport and mining
industries.
But with construction booming, authorities face a
tough task in enforcing regulations and reducing accidents in the
sector.
The government has taken some concrete measures,
such as promulgation of laws on work safety and the prevention and
control of occupational illnesses, and of work safety management
regulations.
It is also promoting innovation in the safety
supervision system and has increased transparency to enable those
responsible for accidents to be held to account.
(China Daily April 29, 2005)