Chinese worker smashes hard hat in viral video, raises safety concerns
- National guidelines regulate standards of protective headgear
- Builder claims supervisors get the best quality
A viral video showing a construction worker’s hard hat being smashed in by a stronger one, reputedly reserved for supervisors, has raised concerns about substandard safety gear in China.
Construction worker Dou Yongyu appeared in a video uploaded to streaming platform Kuaishou on April 11 looking to test the quality of two hard hats, a yellow one he was wearing and a red one, which he said was worn by supervisors. He smashed the two against each other, breaking a hole in the yellow one. The red one remained intact.
“Not even one hit … the hard hat for us construction workers is this kind of quality,” the camouflage-clad builder said in the video before throwing the battered hat onto the ground.
The clip has gone viral on Kuaishou, receiving more than 2 million views. Many praised Dou for bringing attention to the issue.
“I support you. You gave voice to a complaint from many workers,” one viewer wrote.