Chinese factory workers 'work themselves to death': Report

A report has revealed a dangerous trend in which young Chinese factory workers are dying in their sleep due to long working hours.

The Epidemiological Study of Sudden Unexplained Nocturnal Death Syndrome (Sunds) said in a report that 1124 cases of sudden deaths have been registered in the city of Dongguan between January 1990 and August 2013. It also added that 697 cases were reported between 2004 and 2013 alone, reported News.com.au.

Dongguan, a city in China's Guangdong province, is popularly known as the factory of the world and houses several factory workers from all over the country. It has several construction, chemical, electronics, home appliances, metal, furniture, garment, shoe and toy industries.

The report quoted Zhang Yiri, an associate professor from Guangzhou City Polytechnic, as saying that the pay offered by these industries is structured in a manner that encourages people to work for longer hours in order to earn more. Most of the industries pay low salaries for everyday work but the payment for extra work is higher.

In a study conducted by the Sun Yat-sen University, it was found that most of the factory workers who die in their sleep were between the ages of 21 and 40 and more than 90 percent of the workers were working in the production sector.