Two decades of unchecked economic growth has produced an occupational disease epidemic in China that requires urgent action from the government.
Up to six million workers in China are suffering from the debilitating and deadly lung disease, pneumoconiosis. Families of migrant workers have been left impoverished and mired in debt. Whole communities have been devastated by this entirely preventable disease but, as yet, the central government in Beijing has done little to help.
China Labour Bulletin, a labour rights organization that has been assisting workers with pneumoconiosis for nearly a decade, now calls on the government to accept its responsibility for this epidemic and act to ensure that all victims are properly compensated.
CLB's Communications Director Geoffrey Crothall will present our new research report on pneumoconiosis in China, highlighting the efforts of workers who have been fighting for justice, the growing support they have received from the media and civil society, and the wholly inadequate response of local governments who are often ill-equipped to deal with the epidemic. We will in addition show a short video documenting some of the workers at the centre of the struggle for justice.
Time: 10.00.am Thursday 25 April 2013.
Venue: The Hughes Room, Foreign Correspondents Club, 2 Lower Albert Road, Hong Kong.
Language: English.
For further information or an advance copy of the report via email, please contact Geoffrey Crothall at gcrothall@clb.org.hk
中国经济发展的代价：谁来为600万尘肺病工人买单
过去二十年间，中国在经历了经济快速发展的同时，也出现了职业病的大规模爆发，这需要政府的紧急行动。
尘肺病是最主要的职业病。据非官方统计，目前全国约有600万名尘肺病工人，全国已知的大大小小的尘肺村约有20几个。每年新发的尘肺病案例仍在逐年增加。引发尘肺病的主要原因是工人在接尘时没有做好充足的防尘措施。尘肺病具有潜伏期长且不可逆的特点，患者只能靠定期的洗肺来维持生命。尘肺病工人群体大多是青壮年的农民工，是家庭收入的主要来源。也因此，在他们患病之后，他们的家庭几乎无一例外的陷入赤贫状态，夫妻离异、子女无人照料的悲剧时有发生。
同时，尘肺病又是完全可以预防的职业病，但直到目前为止，中央政府仍没有采取有效地措施来制止新发尘肺病例，或是对已有的尘肺病工人进行有效的赔偿及救治。
中国劳工通讯作为一家成立于香港的工人权益机构，在过去十年中，一直参与尘肺病工人的救治。我们呼吁政府承担经济发展的代价，为尘肺病患者提供合理赔偿。
中国劳工通讯的新闻发言人Geoffrey Crothall将向各位介绍本机构最新发布的尘肺病研究报告，重点突出尘肺病工人在寻求合理赔偿道路上的艰辛，以及媒体和公民社会在这个过程中提供的支持和帮助。与之形成对比的，是当地政府部门的不作为或没有能力作为。在发布会的结尾，我们还将为各位放映关于尘肺病工人维权的视频短片。
时间：2013年4月25日周四上午10点钟
地点：香港下亚厘毕道2号外国记者会The Hughes Room
语言：英文。中文记者也可用中文提问
如欲了解发布会的详情，或提前获取研究报告，请与詹妮联系 jennifer@clb.org.hk +852 53469169