The signs of the arrival of this period are: first, the working class such as taxi drivers has joined the ranks of sub-health; second, the phenomenon of death from overwork occurs frequently in senior executives and intellectual elites; third, the legal environment can not protect the legal rights of workers well, and the phenomenon of infringing on the interests of workers is taken for granted. No one attaches importance to health care for employees.
If it is said that excessive work pressure is an inevitable consequence of the market economy, then the imperfection of the law directly leads to the large-scale spread of sub-health conditions. It can even be said that it is precisely because of the lag of legislation and the slow judicial response that the important task of protecting national health is shelved.
The labor law issued in China in 1994 has explicit provisions on the right of workers to rest, but in real life, the labor law is also in a sub-health state, such as the longest working time limit, the paid leave system, and the overtime pay rise, which have hardly been implemented. This means that workers’ right to rest has become a “symbolic right” and has no practical significance. In an era of fierce competition, when workers ask the employer for all the rights stipulated in the labor law, it is tantamount to a knight challenging the windmill. Take taxi drivers as an example. Since the taxi industry in most cities implements an access system, there are many people waiting in line for a taxi license, which will inevitably lead to on-the-job taxi drivers who dare not easily “bargain” with the taxi company.
In foreign-funded enterprises with relatively good salaries, overtime work is common, and the accumulated labor time has long exceeded the provisions of the labor law. However, out of cherishing their posts, few employees of foreign enterprises dare to review article 36 of the labor law with their bosses.
Is sub-health an occupational disease? Is death from overwork an industrial injury? These urgent issues are still under preliminary discussion. Relying on the labor law, which is too loose in interpretation and difficult to implement, is far from enough to solve the problem of extensive sub-health of workers. We urgently need a “labor health and safety bill” that conforms to the characteristics of the times. At the same time, we also need to build a social system to safeguard the health of workers.
Zhang Xiaoyan, the host of Yunnan TV station, died suddenly at his post. Jing Yidan, a famous host of CCTV, sighed: “things like Zhang Xiaoyan have made me feel the importance of establishing a host’s Union.” Jing Yidan may not realize that this exclamation actually shows the crux of the weak implementation of China’s labor law. The administration of trade unions and the generalization of their functions are a weakness of our society, which will inevitably lead to the overdraft of workers’ health and the loss of their right to rest.
Putting people first means protecting the health of workers. It is undoubtedly unwise to shelve or ignore the national health issue, whether in terms of the sustainable development of the national economy or the building of a humane society.
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