Chapter 3 Prevention and Management of Occupational Diseases in the Work

Article 19 The Employer shall take the following measures for prevention and management of occupational diseases.

19.1 Set up or appoint the occupational health management organizations or agencies staffed with full-time or part-time medical professionals for the in-house occupational disease prevention;

19.2 Provide for the occupational-disease-prevention plan and the enforcement plan;

19.3 Establish/improve the occupational health management system and operating rules;

19.4 Establish/maintain occupational health archives and laborer health records;

19.5 Establish/improve the system for supervision and assessment of the workplace occupational-disease-inductive factors;

19.6 Establish/improve contingency plan for occupational-disease-inductive accidents.

Article 20 The Employer should deploy effective occupational-disease-prevention facilities and provide the laborers with the individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles.

Any occupational-disease-prevention article provided to the laborer by the Employer should comply with the applicable regulations of occupational disease prevention. It is not allowed to use any occupational-disease-prevention article failing the applicable regulations.

Article 21 The Employer should give priority to the new technologies, new processes and new materials beneficial to the occupational disease prevention and the laborers’ health in place of the occupational-disease-inductive technologies, processes and materials step by step.

Article 22 The occupational-disease-inductive Employer shall publicize the regulations, operating rules, contingency measures upon occupational-disease-inductive accidents and the testing results of the workplace occupational-disease-inductive factors in the conspicuous bulletin board.

It is also required to post conspicuous warning mark and the warning message in Chinese at the workplace severely harming the occupational health. The warning message should indicate the type, aftereffect, prevention and contingency measures of the occupational-disease-inductive factors.

Article 23 At the poisonous and harmful workplace prone to contingent occupational injuries, the Employer is required to install alarm units, on-site first-aid articles, rinsing facility, emergency exit and necessary risk-elimination area.

For radioactive workplace and the transportation and storage of radioactive isotope, the Employer should equip risk-prevention equipment and alarm devices, and ensure the employees exposed to radiation equipped with dose meter.

The Employer should make regular maintenance, overhaul and test of the occupational-disease-prevention equipment, first-aid facilities and individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles to ensure their smooth operation. It is not allowed to remove or stop the above occupational-disease-prevention facilities without the approval of competent authorities.

Article 24 The Employer should appoint respective employee to make routine supervision over occupational-disease-inductive factors and ensure the normal operation of the monitoring systems.

The Employer should make regular test and assessment on the occupational-disease-inductive factors in the workplace according to the regulation of the public health authority under the State Council. The assessment result shall be logged into the Employer’s occupational health archive for regular submission to local public-health authority and for release to the laborers.

The test and assessment of occupational-disease-inductive factors should be undertaken by occupational-health technical service organizations who are approved by the public health authorities under province-above people’s governments. The assessing organization should be objective and justified in the test and assessment.

In the event that the occupational-disease-inductive factors in the workplace fail to comply with the national standard and requirement of occupational health, the Employer should take immediate countermeasures, which, if failing to eradicate the problem, should necessitate immediate discontinuation of the operation concerned. The discontinued operation should not be restored unless the occupational-disease-inductive factor is accredited consistent with the national standard and requirement of occupational health.

Article 25 Any occupational-disease-inductive equipment supplied to the Employer shall be accompanied with a user manual in Chinese as well as the conspicuous warning mark and warning message in Chinese. The warning message should indicate the performance, the occupational-disease-inductive factors, precautions for safe operation and maintenance, occupational disease prevention and contingency measures, etc.

Article 26 The occupational-disease-inductive chemical, radioactive isotope and radioactive substances supplied to the Employer should be accompanied with the users instructions in Chinese that indicate the product characteristics, major ingredients, harmful factors and possible aftereffect, safety precautions, occupational prevention and contingency measures, etc. The package should bear the conspicuous warning mark and warning message in Chinese. The storage place of the above substances should be equipped with the warning mark for hazardous materials or radioactive materials at the specified spot.

For any occupational-disease-inductive chemical that is used or imported for the first time in China, the responsible organizations should procure the approval from the competent authorities under the State Council according to the state regulation, and submit the toxicity appraisal report, related registration documents or import permit and other necessary documents to the public health authority under the State Council.

The importation of the radioactive isotope, radiation equipment and other radioactive materials should come up to applicable state regulations.

Article 27 No organizations or individuals are allowed to produce, operate, import and use any equipment or materials prohibited by the state regulations owing to its harm to occupational health.

Article 28 No organizations or individuals are allowed to transfer the occupational-disease-inductive operation to other organizations or individuals without qualified occupational-disease-prevention conditions, which, in turn, are prohibited from accepting the operation indicated hereinabove.

Article 29 The Employer should gain an understanding of occupational-disease-inductive factors of the technology, process and material in internal use, and be liable for the occupational disease victims due to the illegal use of the occupational-disease-inductive technology, process and material without advising the concerned people of the occupational-disease-inductive factors.

Article 30 The Employer is required to inform the laborers of the potential occupational-disease-inductive factors and the aftereffect in the work as well as the occupational-disease-prevention measures and remuneration among other related information before the execution of labor contract (including the employment contract, the same below). It is also required to completely and accurately record the above information in the labor contract.

In the event of transferring the laborer during the labor-contract term to the occupational-disease-inductive post that is not indicated in the labor contract due to the change of post or duty, the Employer should faithfully reveal to the laborer the information indicated hereinabove and consult with the laborer for modifying the related provisions of the existing labor contract.

In the event that the Employer fails to comply with the provisions in the Article 30, the laborer may refuse to undertake the occupational-disease-inductive post, which shall not be used by the Employer as the excuse to invalidate or terminate the labor contract concerned.

Article 31 The principals of the Employer shall undergo the occupational health training, adhere to the occupational-disease-prevention laws and regulations, and organize the in-house occupational-disease-prevention work according to applicable laws.

The Employer should provide the regular pre-employment/on-job occupational health training to laborers, popularize the occupational health knowledge, supervise/urge the laborers to comply with the laws, regulations, rules and operating rules for occupational disease prevention, instruct the laborers for the correct utilization of occupational-disease-prevention equipment and individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles.

Laborers should gain the necessary occupational health knowledge, abide by the laws, regulations, rules and operating rules for occupational disease prevention, use/maintain the occupational-disease-prevention equipment and individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles in the right way, and promptly report the potential hazard of occupational-disease-inductive accident.

The Employer shall rectify the laborer’s activities running against the above provisions.

Article 32 According to the regulation of the public health authority under the State Council, the Employer should, at its own cost, proceed with the pre-employment/on-job/pre-departure physical examination for the laborers engaged in the occupational-disease-inductive operation and faithfully inform the laborers of the examination result.

The Employer is prohibited from assigning the laborers to the occupational-disease-inductive operation before undertaking pre-employment physical examination or assigning the taboo-bound laborers to the taboo operations. In addition, the Employer should also transfer the laborer suffering the work-related disease found in the occupational health examination to other post. Moreover, the Employer is prohibited from invalidating or terminating the labor contract of any laborer not undergoing pre-departure occupational health examination.

The occupational health examination should be conducted by the healthcare agencies approved by the public health authority under the province-above people’s government.

Article 33 The Employer is required to create and maintain the occupational health record for laborers within the stipulated period.

The occupational health record should include the laborer’s employment history, occupational-disease-inductive work record, occupational health examination result and occupational-disease medical treatment among other individual health records.

Upon leaving the Employer, the laborer is entitled to claim for the copy of his (her) own occupational health record. Upon the request, the Employer should faithfully furnish the stamped record for no charge.

Article 34 The Employer should undertake prompt contingency and control measures upon the actual (or potential) contingent occupational-disease-inductive accidents and promptly report to the local public-health authority and related organizations, which, upon the receipt of the report, should join with related organizations for investigation and treatment and take interim control measures when necessary.

The Employer shall, at its own cost, promptly rescue/cure the laborers suffering from the contingent occupational diseases or exposed to the possibility of contingent occupational diseases, and arrange physical examination and medical treatment therefor.

Article 35 The Employer is prohibited from assigning child labor to the occupational-disease-inductive operation or assigning the female laborers in pregnancy or lactation period to the operation harmful to the health of the embryos or babies.

Article 36 The laborers are entitled to the following occupational-health-protection rights:

36.1 The opportunity of occupational health education and training;

36.2 The occupational-disease-prevention services like occupational health examination, occupational disease diagnosis and rehabilitation;

36.3 Understand the actual (or possible) occupational-disease-inductive factors, their harmful effect and necessary occupational-disease-prevention measures in the workplace;

36.4 Ask the Employer to provide the occupational-disease-prevention equipment and individual-used occupational-disease-prevention articles to improve the working conditions;

36.5 Criticize, impeach and accuse the practices that violate occupational-disease-prevention laws and regulations and harm human health;

36.6 Deny the illegal orders and commands to undertake the operation without the safeguard of occupational-disease-prevention measures;

36.7 Participate in the democratic management of the Employer’s occupational health work, and bring forward comments and suggestions with regard to the occupational-disease-prevention operation.

The Employer should ensure that the laborers may exercise the above rights. Such practices as reducing remuneration package, invalidating or terminating the labor contract due to the laborer’s exercise of legal rights are deemed invalid.

Article 37 The labor union should urge and assist the Employer to carry out the occupational health education and training, bring forward comments and suggestions for the Employer’s occupational-disease-prevention operation, coordinate with the Employer to solve the problems echoed by the laborers with regard to the occupational disease prevention.

The labor union is entitled to: demand rectification of the Employer’s practices in violation of the occupational-disease-prevention laws and regulations or infringing against the laborers’ legal rights; require the Employer to take prevention measures or suggest the competent government agencies to take compulsive measures upon the occurrence of severe occupational-disease harm; get involved in the investigation and settlement of the occupational-disease-inductive accidents; suggest the Employer to remove the laborers from the hazardous site upon the occurrence that endangers the life and health of the laborers. Upon the request of the labor union, the Employer should adopt prompt measures therefor.

Article 38 The Employer can include the occupational-disease-prevention expenses in the production costs according to applicable regulations, including the expenses for prevention/treatment of occupational-disease-inductive factors, workplace hygiene inspection, health custody and occupational health training, etc.