According to Xinhua, stationed in Zhejiang on 7 August, due to the incessant rise of temperatures to a record high, Zhejiang has become one of the hottest regions in the country. The Zhejiang Observatory revealed that 40 out the 67 weather stations in Zhejiang broke the record of high temperature after spring. A temperature of over 40 degrees C has been registered in 46 stations, and 4 of them had reached 40 degrees for 10 consecutive days. In addition, the Shaoxing Evening Post reported that the extreme heat has already killed more than 30 people since July in the urban area of Shaoxing. The Post also said that more than half of the deaths were caused by lengthy outdoor work in a hot environment, and most victims are migrant workers from other provinces. I called the Shaoxing People's Hospital to learn more the situation of the migrant workers suffering heat stroke. One staff member from the office told me that the hospital didn't know the proper procedure to pass on information:
Hospital Staff:
Oh...I can't tell you the figure at once. Yes, there are (migrant workers suffering sunstroke); but how many people...I'm not clear. Sure, there are.
Han:
How many people died recently?
Hospital Staff:
Many.Let me see... Well, I can't tell you freely! This kind of thing, I think we should leave it to the institutions concerned and the government.
Han:
Which department should I contact?
Hospital Staff:
We have to report this to those - those leadership concerned. By what methods should the incident be reported? The relevant departments will give an account; we need not do so.
A doctor from the Emergency Room of the Shaoxing No. 2 hospital said that since July, the No. 2 Hospital has been receiving patients suffering from heat stroke, and most of them are migrant workers from other provinces. They had sunstroke in their jobs or on the way home after work. All 3 patients who died were migrant workers.
Doctor:
Heat stroke? Yes. That is extreme body overheating, with temperatures over 42 degrees. Three to four people died. Well, so many people have sunstroke. I'm not sure of the figure. Three people died.
Han:
Oh, are they all migrant workers from other provinces?
Doctor:
Yes, they are migrant workers from other provinces.
Han:
Did they have heat stroke because of their work?
Doctor:
Oh, some got it during their work.[Others]when they are on the way home.
Han:
When did these things happen?
Doctor:
When? Just recently. In July, and also in August.
Han:
Now the temperature there is falling, isn't it?
Doctor:
The temperature now is still quite high; a little bit lower than before. Recently fewer people have sunstroke. Due to the artificial rain - the temperature seems to be falling a bit - a bit lower than before. The body temperature of patients with heat stroke is not very high, it seems.
Han:
Those...those with heat stroke, what's the ratio of migrant workers?
Doctor:
Basically all of them are migrant workers; all the dead are migrant workers.
Han:
Then the ratio of migrant workers is much higher?
Doctor:
For migrant workers...many workers (patients) have a very high temperature.
Han:
Oh! Which unit do they come from?
Doctor:
The migrant workers don't write down the unit they belong to. They only fill in their addresses, which are only the addresses of some rented apartments. They don't write down clearly the unit they work for. It's not very clear on this point.
Han:
You know nothing about the nature of jobs they are doing?
Doctor:
We are not clear about these in detail. All we do is to see patients. We aren't sure of these things.
An official from the Shaoxing Labour Bureau confirmed with us that most of the patients with sunstroke are migrant workers doing outdoor jobs for construction and fixtures:
Official:
Extremely high temperatures. Migrant workers in such hot environments¨C they are subject to hot conditions at workplace.
Han:
Those...those migrant workers who died of sunstroke, what kind of jobs were they doing?
Official:
Their jobs are all are outdoor jobs! Work like in construction sites, or outdoor tasks. And the installation of air conditioners. Every day - residents here rush off to buy air conditioners. This workload is comparatively heavier. Working continuously in such a hot environment causes heat stress.
He further pointed out that the chief duty of the Labour Bureau is to circulate documents and notices on the prevention of heat stroke.
Official:
Oh, things have relaxed. Well, the temperature now... a few showers fall now. We've just stopped making artificial rains. Yesterday, the weather was milder than the previous two days. Now more attention is paid to the existing job in the prevention of sunstroke.
Han:
Then is the Labour Bureau taking any measures?
Official:
We...we distribute the documents. These circulate to the lower levels step by step. And it is also us who give out the latest notice on sunstroke prevention.
Han:
Those migrant workers are employed by which units? Are they private or not?
Official:
Up till now, most are from the private sector. You know the installation of air conditioners, the work on construction sites and so on - all these are under the subcontracted system. The tasks are allocated from the above. Things are usually like this.
A cadre from the Shaoxing General Trade Union said in the interview that the Trade Union has nothing to do with the migrant workers killed by sunstroke in working in extreme temperatures.
Han:
Recently, in the area of Shaoxing, the temperature remains extremely high, and many migrant workers died of sunstroke.
Trade Union Cadre:
Died of sunstroke? These things...you...You're asking the Trade Union about these?
Han:
Right.
Trade Union Cadre:
You should ask the Labour Bureau, right?! We don't deal with death cases led by heat stroke, and we don't...
Han:
These...these don't belong to the¡
Trade Union Cadres:
These aren't industrial accidents, are they?
Han:
Aren't these related to working conditions?
Trade Union:
They died of high temperature, right?! It't caused by sunstroke, right?! It seems we don't - we don't deal with these things. The reports can be seen in the newspaper. It is the newspaper's job to give an account of it.
Han:
Does the Trade Union know that most of victims are migrant workers?
Trade Union:
We only learnt it from the newspapers.
Han:
From the newspapers?
Trade Union Cadre:
Right!
Han:
Did the trade union investigate this?
Trade Union:
I'm not sure. I'm not in a position to say this!
A commentary was issued in Zhongguo Qingnian Bao on 7 August, pointing out that "in the small city of Shaoxing, where only hundreds of thousands of people live, it is unexpected that in such a short period of time, more than 15 employees died when working in high temperature conditions". The temperature extremes exposed a "short circuit" [or loose connection] wihtin economic development - that protection of labour rights is not fully provided. The article is also skeptical of the measures and regulations taken by local governments, saying that these are in fact just "routine duties and mere formality", showing "the government is negligent in labour supervision, and the trade unions do nothing in protecting labour rights." The article stresses that "this kind of things is of course not limited to a single city of Shaoxing - but is very common in other places or even nationwide".