Breakthrough Cases of Chinese Silicosis Victims

Legal struggle is the most important strategy in claiming the rights of the silicosis victims at the moment. The imbalanced power position of the employers and the absence of trade union representation means that the victims can only take on individualized legal actions to claim their rights. Yet in the course of the legal struggles, the loopholes in the implementation of law are identified, workers¡¦ actions do pressure the government institutions such as the labour bureau, the hospitals, the people¡¦s court to change their behaviour. Successful litigation cases as quoted below, also serve to regulate capital in a broad sense. The legal/organizing approach succeeded in achieving two break-through cases in terms of compensation claims for occupational disease victims in China.

FENG Xing Zhong Case with Ko Ngar Gems.

Feng Xingzhong, a 33-year-old Sichuan native, won his case on appeal in
Huidong County People's Court on 22 Dec 2005, after more than 3 years¡¦ struggles amid deterioration of this health. The case had been turned down by the local court of Huizhou and Haifeng city for more than 2 years due to lack of evidence supporting employment relation in factory relocation. In July, the Huizhou court finally ruled in favour of Feng and the company was made to pay a record high compensation of RMB463,761, which included a lump sum payment of RMB219,000 to cover Feng's long-term medical treatment. It is the highest amount of compensation to silicosis victim since the adoption of ¡§Industrial Injury Compensation Ordinance¡¨ in 2004. Yet the company did not comply with the court ruling and refused to hand down the compensation despite the victim plaintiff¡¦s filing of execution order with the Huizhou court. We complained to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and launched a joint online signature campaign with Labour Start, to support the plaintiff. On 26th September, Feng and the company reached an out-of-the-court agreement under the mediation of the Huizhou court judge. Feng finally received an amount of RMB430,000 in an one-off compensation.

XU Yun Dong Case with Perfect Gems.

The company, Perfect Gems, was made to pay RMB416,000 in March 2006. The court ruled that the plaintiff can reserve the right of further litigation in case of disease degeneration. This is the first-ever legal victory for pursuing compensation for degeneration of the disease. The two issues of compensating continuous medical treatment and disease degeneration are two contentious demands the victims have been struggling with the employers and the government. In no previous cases had the court give a ruling on compensation regarding these two issues. The compensation level in the two cases is also the highest so far. Victims that accepted a deal with the employers received from as little as RMB10,000 to RMB200,000. In this sense, the legal struggle approach, though individualized, is working to challenge the loopholes of the occupational health system in China. Future strategizing would be focused on collective litigation and the criminal responsibility of employers.