The work safety watchdog called on Tuesday for millions of migrant workers who are employed in the dirtiest, hardest and most dangerous jobs to receive better and improved training.

"The training of migrant workers has become the biggest factor in workplace safety. The pace of training must be accelerated," said Sun Huashan, the deputy minister of the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS), at a national video conference on the issue.

Sun's call came in the wake of a spate of major accidents at coal mines and a refinery that have claimed the lives of dozens of workers in last two weeks.

In northwest Gansu Province, three coal mine accidents from October 31 to November 2 killed 34 miners.

The economic boom has driven millions of farmers to factories, construction sites and mines seeking better incomes than farming can provide. Crucially, many of them receive little training before taking up highly dangerous jobs.

A survey by the SAWS in nine provinces shows that migrant workers account for 80 percent of the more than 30 million construction workers in those provinces. They also make up 56 percent of those working in mining, dangerous chemicals and fireworks.

The survey also shows that almost all the workers at small collieries are migrant workers. Even in state-owned collieries, almost all non-management jobs are filled by migrant workers.

Another survey by the SAWS shows 90 percent of the accidents are due to human error, and that 80 percent of said accidents occur in workplaces dominated by migrant workers.

The SAWS earlier issued guidelines on training migratory workers. These stated migratory workers in dangerous industries must receive no less than 72 hours of safety training before they begin work. For those in the construction industry, the minimum requirement is 32 hours.

The guidelines also require no less than 20 hours of safety training for workers each year.

Sun said the work safety watchdog will step up enforcement of these woeful guidelines.

(Xinhua News Agency November 8, 2006)