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Worker fights to prove compensation claim

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-28 00:43

ZHENGZHOU: Central China health authorities have launched an investigation into the case of a migrant worker who was denied compensation after contracting a debilitating lung disease while working a brick factory.

Zhang Haichao, 28, claims he had to spend 80,000 yuan ($11,764) and undergo a biopsy to prove he suffered pneumoconiosis, despite having diagnoses from hospitals in Beijing and Zhengzhou, capital of Henan Province.

Zhang says he had the biopsy at No1 Hospital Affiliated to Zhengzhou University after the city's Occupational Disease Prevention Institution (ODPI), which handles occupational health compensation claims, rejected the earlier diagnoses.

Zhang, from Xinmi city, says he was discharged from hospital on July 1 because he could no longer afford the medical costs.

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His plight triggered a public debate over the rights of migrant workers and Zhengzhou city government organized a team of medical experts, safety supervisors and labor union staff to investigate.

Experts finally diagnosed Zhang as having pneumoconiosis on Monday and those who are alleged to have denied him legal recourse were under investigation, said Gu Jianqin, head of local health bureau.

Li Lei, the institution director, said he would not comment on the latest result by the experts.

Zhang said he first felt sick in 2007 after three years of work at the Zhengzhou Zhendong Wearable Material Co, Ltd, which produces silicic bricks and fireproof materials.

"Since I have been diagnosed as having an occupational disease, I'll seek compensation from the factory," Zhang said. "I will sue the employer if necessary."

He would not put a figure on the amount of compensation he would seek.

"I'm young, but I cannot work any more. The factory must pay for the rest of my life.

"There are six or seven co-workers who suffered the same disease after working at the company. I hope they will be compensated too."

Ma Jianshan, 47, Zhang's co-worker in the company, also has difficulty in breathing and cannot bear heavy work.

But Qin Yongbin, deputy manager of the company, said he only relied on the ODPI's confirmation to compensate Zhang. After the experts gave the final result, he said he would wait for the government's decision and the legal process if necessary.

Under Chinese law, sufferers of occupational diseases are entitled to compensation and employers should help with their treatment. Workers exposed to the risk of occupational diseases are entitled to subsidies.

Pneumoconiosis is an increasingly common lung disease among Chinese workers, especially among the young, according to the Ministry of Health.

It usually affects people working in very dusty environments, and can be fatal without proper treatment.  In serious cases, the patient needs permanent care and may never be able to return to work.

Experts attribute the high incidence of the disease to employers' ignorance of health risks. In some places, local governments fail to supervise working conditions and migrant workers pay little attention to their own health.