In fact, even if the provisions are fully implemented, can’t the bosses avoid the risk of going down? If I were a boss or general manager, I would promote several persons to be full-time leaders taking miners underground. It is much better to pay more money than to go down and take the risk oneself. At least this policy will create some more jobs.
As the world anxiously watches the rescue attempts for the 33 trapped Chilean miners, China is working hard to improve its mining safety.
The State Administration of Work Safety has recently released draft provisions for mining supervisors, emphasizing public supervision of the process with clear powers, responsibilities, and instructions.
If the provisions can be implemented, they will be a big step forward for protecting the lives of China’s miners. They make it clear that miners should have three critical rights. They should have plans clearly presented to them, have the right to refuse to go underground unless the leaders accompany them, and if the leader goes back aboveground without an exceptional reason, they should have the right to follow straightaway.
A system is already in place that requires the leaders of mining enterprises to spend time underground with their men.
But the new regulations would be stricter, forcing leaders to take it in turns to accompany miners every time. While the miners are underground, the leaders must be too. If they head back up, the miners can join them, and if they don’t go down the mines, the miners don’t have to either.
It’s one way to curb mine accidents. Even mining leaders who don’t usually pay attention to safety will be more concerned when it’s their own lives on the line. But let’s see whether it works.
Miners labor under not only poor conditions, but fatally dangerous ones. There are seven fatal accidents a day in mines across China – though that number has already been drastically reduced from a peak of 19 in 2002.
But the mine owners don’t recognize these conditions. In their minds, mines are a treasure chest. And they figure they pay the miners, so the miners have no right to monitor them. Supervision from the bottom up may be doomed given how dependent miners are on their work. If a miner makes trouble, what will prevent the boss trumping up some other excuse to fire him?