A top expert on work safety is calling for strict laws to protect laborers after the city reported a total of 63 deaths in 52 accidents on its construction sites so far this year, as a result of loose safety standards in some building companies.

The Beijing municipal administration of work safety reported 122 work-related deaths by mid-December, blaming "illegal" construction projects mostly in outlaying areas for hiring unqualified migrant workers.

Liu Tieming, president of the China Academy of Safety Science and Technology, said the city doesn't have laws that require contractors to provide training for their laborers.

"It is not enough to just tell them to put on helmets before they get into the construction sites. Most migrant workers are not well educated, and they need to take special work safety classes," he told METRO.

"The city should make laws that specifically require employers to train their workers before they go to work."

He suggests the work safety administration to classify industries in terms of work safety, with special attention paid to high-risk" areas.

According to the Beijing municipal administration of work and safety, 1,121 people have died from work, traffic and fire accidents so far this year.

From October 18 to November 30, eight died and 15 were injured in four "illegal" construction projects in rural areas.

The deaths were about 15 percent less than the city government expected at the beginning of this year.

The government hopes the work-related deaths will drop by 5 per cent every year, an important measure to assess job performance of government officials in charge of work safety, Liu said.

"No job is 100 percent safe, but giving a number of how many people could die from work each year is not scientific and objective," said Liu, adding that such performance measures can prompt officials to conceal the toll when they are nearing their "quota".

Liu credits the fall in work-related deaths this year to what he calls the change of industrial structure in the city, as the number of dangerous and high-risk jobs is on the decline due to the emergence of service industry.

(China Daily December 31, 2009)