The Supreme People's Court has asked courts at all levels to impose harsher punishments for crimes related to work safety.

Major criminal cases related to work safety can go immediately to higher courts, like intermediate people's court or above, a statement from the top court said on Wednesday.

"Courts at all levels should severely punish crimes related to work safety that will result in major accidents, to ensure the safety of people's lives and property," Zhou Qiang, chief justice of the SPC, said in the statement.