China overtakes Japan for highest rate of death from overwork

January 26, 2014 Leave a comment

China overtakes Japan for highest rate of death from overwork

Liang Shih-huang and Staff Reporter

2014-01-25

China has surpassed Japan to become the country that posts the highest rate of deaths caused by excessive work, with one Chinese website noting that the problem is acutest in the manufacturing sector.

According to some media reports, around 600,000 people or over 1,600 persons a day die as a result of overwork in China every year.

The manufacturing sector has seen the highest number of such deaths, reported iheima, a website offering consulting services to entrepreneurs, followed by PR, media, e-commerce, start-ups, finance, communication, internet, gaming and courier services.

“The invincible Chinese workers produce cheap, quality goods for the world, but pay the high price of health and lives,” iheima said, citing the example of Taiwan-based contract manufacturer Foxconn Group, which produces consumer electronics at its plants in China.

The website also cited the example of a 24-year-old employee at advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather’s Beijing office, who died suddenly in May last year after working overtime for a month.

However, such sudden deaths are excluded from accident insurance policies in China and have resulted in several disputes, the Chinese-language Beijing Business Today reported.

As a result, CIGNA and CMC Life Insurance Co recently launched the country’s first insurance policy that covers sudden death, although industry insiders pointed out certain existing life insurance policies also covered such deaths.

Filed under Macro Trends

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