Migrant laborers who suffer injuries on the job are forced to wait an average of two years for compensation, according to a Beijing law firm.

A survey of 212 wounded workers without insurance in the capital, many of whom earned less than 2,000 yuan a month, found just 26.1 percent received payouts from employers within one year.

The sample group was selected from 1,045 respondents to a study conducted between 2008 and 2010 by Yilian Legal Aid and Labor Study Center. Almost half lost their jobs due to injuries.

"Workers who are in danger of losing their lives must pay the medical fees themselves before the compensation comes," causing a burden for low-income families, said Ye Mingxin, a researcher at the center.

Sun Xiaodan, a 34-year-old from Jilin province who was badly hurt in a work-related road accident in Beijing in 2007, is yet to receive a single penny from her former employers.

"The compensation procedures take a long time. We have been left helpless and disappointed," said her brother, Sun Guangyu. "We've tried hard, but the company has never replied. What else can we do but wait?"

According to the revised Social Insurance Law, which comes into effect in July, if firms refuse to pay up quickly, injured workers should receive compensation from the Work Injury Insurance Fund. However, the current application process for this can take up to three years.

Added to this is the fact that about 81 percent of injured workers are from remote villages, while 72.8 percent have received little education and find it hard following the process, the center's study shows .

Huang Leping, the director of Yilian, said they will present the research to the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, as well as urging legislators to make urgent changes. "The ministry needs to help injured workers get compensation from the fund quickly," he added.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/18/2011 page)