Recommended reading
The long march: survey and case studies of work injuries in the Pearl River Delta Region
How can workers' conditions be improved in the Pearl River Delta?
Authors:
; China Labor Watch
Publisher:
China Labor Watch, 2007
This paper reports on an extended research project following on from a study conducted in 2005. It focuses on a survey study based on interviews with 260 injured workers from the Shenzhen metropolitan area of China between May and November 2006.
The first section of the paper identifies common characteristics shared by work injury cases and injury victims, while the second looks at case studies that document and analyse the procedures to claim and receive work injury compensation.
The findings show that, in order to lower production cost, companies often misreport the number of employees they have and their related wage standards. Most workers on the production line do not have social insurance. Of over 22 million migrant workers in Guangdong Province, only 22% have pensions, 14% have medical insurance, and 15% have unemployment insurance.
A number of recommendations are put forward. These include:
• workers must know of what rights they are entitled to
• government agencies must strengthen factory inspections and enforce labour regulations
• a re-evaluation of the compensation calculation method should be conducted
• the government should not only give labour NGOs room to develop, but also encourage them to become more active in their efforts at improving work conditions and protecting labour rights.
