Legal Guide for Workers' Compensation Rights Protection

Author: Huang Leping (Compiler)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-06-01
Features: Since the publication of my 《New Operational Practices for Handling Industrial Accident Cases》 in September 2004, my main legal practice has shifted to the field of labor law, particularly focusing on workers' rights protection. To provide legal assistance to injured workers, I established the China Industrial Accident Compensation Network in April 2005. Since the founding of Beijing Yishe Labor Consulting Center in February 2006, the majority of my efforts have been dedicated to the cause of workers' rights protection. Over the years, my colleagues and I have provided legal support to injured workers through various means—handling cases, consulting, hotlines, letters, emails, and online Q&A—cumulatively assisting over 10,000 individuals and encountering thousands of cases from all over the country. Most of the cases included in this book were carefully selected from these experiences, demonstrating strong representativeness and typicality. They not only include the various difficult questions I answered for injured workers but also numerous cases resolved by my colleagues in helping workers with their legal issues. Although I compiled and finalized the manuscript, it can be considered a crystallization of collective wisdom.
For me, the focus on writing a book on workers' rights protection was entirely inspired by a personal experience of a special industrial accident. I once worked as a full-time legal consultant for a large central backbone enterprise. During a basketball game between the company and its subsidiary, I, as a participant, accidentally injured my right knee. Based on my past athletic experience, I thought the injury was not severe and believed it would heal with rest, so I did not file a request for an industrial accident. However, the situation later took a turn for the worse. For six months after the injury, my condition worsened significantly, with severe muscle atrophy to the point where I could no longer run. Later, authoritative experts diagnosed me with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a meniscus tear, requiring surgery. The cost of the surgery was so high that it was almost beyond my financial capacity, and the postoperative recovery period was long and painful, far exceeding my expectations. As a result, I submitted an application for an industrial accident to my employer. Due to certain reasons, the company’s relevant department took a long time to submit the application to the local labor department. The application was quickly approved by the labor department, followed by an impairment assessment and a conclusion from the Labor Ability Evaluation Committee. However, the implementation of industrial accident benefits took over a year, involving multiple issues such as insufficient workers' compensation contributions, the calculation of average wages, the repayment of deducted wages, reimbursement of medical expenses and travel expenses for treatment, and the calculation of nursing fees.
This experience deepened my understanding of industrial accidents, labor insurance, and even labor law, offering me valuable insights. I often wonder, if I were not a lawyer, would the handling of such issues be even more complicated? If it were an ordinary injured worker, could they receive the legally entitled industrial accident benefits? For injured workers in a vulnerable position, how can they fight for their rights? Compared to powerful corporate groups and employers, even the strongest individual is still weak and belongs to the vulnerable group. However, this does not mean that individuals are powerless or should be at the mercy of others. After all, the legal framework of national construction provides individuals with such opportunities. For individuals to claim their rights against the strong, they must stand on the high ground of the law, let the law speak for them, let the law support them, and let the law uphold justice. Therefore, injured workers and their families must master the relevant laws and regulations on workers' rights protection, find legal grounds for their claims, and prove that the actions of their employers are illegal. To safeguard their rights, they must grasp the law. Otherwise, as a friend from the labor department once wrote in a letter, "Due to a lack of legal awareness, many migrant workers receive only half or even less of the legally entitled compensation after an industrial accident, yet they still express gratitude—how heartbreaking that is."
For injured workers and their families, mastering the laws and regulations on workers' compensation is not an easy task. Currently, China’s workers' compensation legislation consists of the Industrial Accident Insurance Regulations (an administrative regulation) and a small number of departmental and local regulations, with most being normative documents. The lowest-level normative documents, however, are the most frequently used and most practical in the handling of industrial accident cases. There are at least dozens, if not hundreds, of effective normative documents in various regions, and the benefits for civil servants and public employees differ significantly from those for employees in private enterprises. With so many laws and regulations, so detailed, it is unlikely that ordinary injured workers or even ordinary employers could fully understand them—even professionals like myself sometimes need to consult various materials. During my own pursuit of industrial accident benefits, I reviewed a great deal of information, including many books on practical handling of industrial accident cases. From the perspective of an injured worker, many of these books lack practicality (especially after the implementation of the Industrial Accident Insurance Regulations). This is because an ordinary injured worker simply wants to understand the entire process of industrial accident and benefit implementation, as they cannot, like professionals, consult various materials or study each issue.
Here, I hope that the publication of this book can largely avoid the shortcomings of such books and provide more assistance and guidance to injured workers and their families. My experience with industrial accidents has given me a deep understanding of their plight. I would like to quote a passage from the preface of the New Operational Practices for Handling Industrial Accident Cases (Revised Edition) to express my true feelings during the writing of this book. "In the preface of the first edition of this book, I wrote as a motto, ‘May no one in the world suffer from the troubles of industrial accidents.’ Unbeknownst to me, shortly after the book’s publication, I was shocked to hear that one of my high school classmates, also a distant cousin named Jiang Zhiyi, had tragically died from a fall from a high-rise building on a construction site in Guangzhou, with his child still learning to walk. How tragic! It truly makes one sigh at the unpredictability of life and the severity of industrial accidents! I sincerely hope that both workers and employers can take every effort to prevent industrial accidents." On the occasion of this book’s publication, I wish to express my heartfelt condolences and sincere blessings to all injured workers.
I am particularly grateful to the editor Dai Wei of Legal Publishing House for his genuine concern for the urgent needs of injured workers and his humanistic care as a legal professional. His dedication deeply moved me and contributed to the timely publication of this book. He offered many constructive suggestions on the format and content arrangement, making the book more perfect. The completion of this book is also thanks to my colleagues Zhu Maolin and Liu Xinqi of Beijing Yishe Labor Consulting Center for their significant contributions to the collection and organization of materials. I would also like to thank the many dedicated netizens working in labor departments on the China Industrial Accident Compensation Network, such as Liao Xiaoxing from Meizhou, Guangdong, Hou Ningbo from Yuncheng, Shanxi, and many others whose names I do not know. Their answers on the industrial accident forum have also greatly enriched the writing of this book.
Above all, I am especially grateful to Professor Liu Renwen, a renowned scholar and researcher at the Institute of Law, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Professor Liu and I are both from Longhui, Hunan, and have been friends for a decade. He has provided me with much support in academic, professional, and personal aspects. I have indeed faced many difficulties in the field of workers’ rights protection and have shared my struggles with Professor Liu, hoping he could relay the situation to relevant leaders. Not only did he write letters recommending my story to leaders, but he also volunteered to write a preface for my new book. Professor Liu has always emphasized theoretical research, yet this book falls into the practical realm. His willingness to write a preface for this practical work not only supports me and the cause of workers’ rights protection but also reflects his long-standing concern for social issues and his humanistic spirit. It truly moved me deeply!
Changing the social environment for workers’ rights protection is difficult with the efforts of only a few. Those who are involved understand the hardships firsthand. I sincerely hope that rights protection is no longer a dream for the weak or a favor from the strong. Here, I sincerely wish Professor Liu, his family, and all those who support and care about the rights of the vulnerable a peaceful life!
Given my limited knowledge and time, there are inevitably shortcomings in this book. I welcome criticism and corrections from all readers.