Duration: August 2008 – October 2013
China has been experiencing vast increases in workplace injury, illness and death in the last 20 years due to its rapid industrial growth. Industrial accidents cause 15,000 deaths annually in China. In 2004, 80 percent of these were among migrant workers in 2004. Further, at least 30,000 work-related injuries occur each year. The direct economic loss caused by work-related diseases or injuries annually amounts to 100 billion Yuan (US$ 12 billion), while the indirect loss is double that amount. Migrant workers are particularly at risk of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) related injury, illness and death, as they leave poor rural areas with minimal skills, training and awareness related to the work they will do. They also often work long hours under poor conditions. Female migrant workers face the highest risk due to their inherent biological and social vulnerability.
The goal of MLOHS is to support China in meeting its commitments under international instruments in order to reduce incidence of workplace injury, illness and death among female and male migrant workers.
The Project will increase awareness and understanding of female and male migrant workers’ rights among workers, employers, and government in China with a focus on OHS laws, regulations, and policies. FIT and its partners, Equitas and Saint Mary’s University, are seeking to change practices at national, institutional, municipal, and individual levels through providing capacity building and technical assistance programs focusing on regulatory and legal frameworks. This will be achieved through improving the quality of Chinese implementation of OHS provisions for migrant workers; strengthening the capacities of central and municipal governments to implement and regulate OHS laws and policies; and advocating migrant workers’ rights – all in accordance international human rights standards. MLOHS will pay special attention to gender equity, recognizing the distinctive vulnerabilities and challenges faced by women migrant workers.