Free health checks and education will be offered to Shanghai's
100,000 taxi drivers - who face stressful, long working shifts.
"This follows a program providing health education and free
checkups to taxi drivers in Beijing two years ago. About 10,000
taxi drivers took part and more than 1,000 received free
examinations," said Li Chengzhi, manager of Shanghai Ciming Health
Checkup.
"Taxi driving is a job with a high workload, unhealthy lifestyle
and lots of stress."
The Beijing program found 61.4 percent of drivers had fatty
livers and 50.6 percent had high cholesterol. About one-third of
the drivers didn't realize they had health problems.
Shanghai Ciming plans to launch the program to educate drivers
on health in two months, and offer free checkups to 800 to 1,000
drivers. Many work 20 hours a shift.
Local taxi drivers said high stress and difficulty in finding
toilets were the two main threats to their health.
"Fatigue and pressure result in some drivers having high blood
pressure. Since many drivers have to wait to urinate while working,
prostatitis and other related diseases are common,” said Jin
Kangsheng, a veteran driver at Shanghai Dazhong Taxi Co, which
arranges checkup every two years.
Smaller companies seldom provide regular checks for staff. "My
company doesn't have such concern for our welfare. The authorities
should issue policies to protect our health," said Zhang Guohua, a
driver from Shanghai Jinqiu Taxi Co.
Officials from Shanghai Taxi Association said companies are not
required to check drivers' health, but the association has helped
negotiate with the government to allow drivers to use public
toilets.
(Shanghai Daily July 24, 2007)