What Are the Issues Surrounding Sanitation Safety?

Sanitation workers are praised as "urban yellow roses", "road angels" and "urban beauticians". They are mainly responsible for street sanitation and cleaning. Sanitation workers' day is held on October 26 each year.

Sanitation workers

Generally street sanitation workers are recommended by the community.

1. Sanitation workers have long working hours and heavy workloads. The average daily working time is more than 8 hours, and no

1. Sanitation workers are generally less educated, ageing, and mostly women

According to a survey report by Guizhou Normal University [1], the current educational level of sanitation workers in China is generally low, and most of them are only too young.

Around 8 am on July 9, 2013, He Guihua, a 52-year-old female sanitation worker in Yuetang District, Xiangtan City, felt unwell while cleaning and showed signs of heat stroke. By the time 120 arrived, the person had died. The death certificate issued by the First People's Hospital of Xiangtan City states that He Guihua's death date was July 9, 2013, and the cause of death was heat stroke ^[2]

On July 29, 2013, Zhang Liexiang, a sanitation worker, died of heat stroke. On the morning of July 31, the forensic doctor identified the deceased, and determined that Zhang Liexiang was dead from a heat stroke. ^[2]

The staff of the Propaganda Department of the Yueyang Economic and Technological Development Zone revealed that after the accident, members of the relevant team of the Yueyang Economic and Technological Development Zone Management Committee held an emergency meeting to discuss and report to the labor security department as soon as possible.

Since the death certificate and the case could not be completely identified as a work death, the labor security department recommends judicial identification of the deceased. The forensic doctor identified the deceased and determined that Zhang Liexiang had died from a heat stroke.

According to the Yueyang Economic and Technological Development Zone Environmental Sanitation Institute, there does exist a factual labor relationship with Zhang Liexiang, and Zhang Liexiang's family members will be compensated according to the results of the forensic medical evaluation and the national compensation standard for work death, ^[2]