An explosion at the Chengzihe Coal Mine in Jixi city in the northeastern province of Heilongjiang took place on 20 June, 2002. The blast killed 115 miners and injured another 24. The mine is managed by the government run Jixi Mining Corporation (JMC), employs 5,500 miners and produces 1.1 million tonnes of coal annually. The general manager of JMC, Zhao Wenlin, was among the victims.
The latest mine disaster follows recent public outcry about the horrendous mine accident rate in China in the wake of a coal mine accident in Shanxi province in early May which killed 21 miners.
The State Council has set up an investigation team into the June 20th Jixi disaster, as it marked the fourth worst coal mine accident in China since 1949. China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety ordered the closure of 10 coal mines under the JMC. Two earlier blasts in the mining city of Jixi had killed 31 miners and injured 43 others in April this year.
China produces about a quarter of the world's coal. As the country's coal mine fatalities have reached 5,000 a year, the central government has tried to reduce its record as the world's deadliest coal producer by cracking down on small and often illegal mines in the country. But it is well-known that local authorities in mining areas often collude with mine operators to cover up unlawful and hazardous operations. Both private and state-owned mines often flagrantly violate safety regulations.
As a Jixi miner told China Labour Bulletin on 20 June, the introduction of privatization and sub-contracting is the underlying cause of hazardous operations as mine operators pursue competitive profit targets.
"Those who are in charge of safety have far less power than those in charge of production. This means safety comes second to production. Hence, [accidents] are inevitable. You haven't worked in the mine. If you have, you can see that if you don't break those safety regulations, there's no way you can operate. The production target figures that they [in the higher authorities] set have forced people [on the ground] to operate this [dangerous] way ", said the miner.
The absence of worker representation, a result of monopoly union rights by the government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions, as well as the employment of rural migrants as temporary contract workers, rules out the possibility of tripartite consultation and monitoring of mine safety.
(Source: AFP, AP, BBC, China Daily, CLB, Financial Times (UK), People's Daily, Reuters, Xinhua.)
2002-06-25
The latest mine disaster follows recent public outcry about the horrendous mine accident rate in China in the wake of a coal mine accident in Shanxi province in early May which killed 21 miners.
The State Council has set up an investigation team into the June 20th Jixi disaster, as it marked the fourth worst coal mine accident in China since 1949. China's State Administration of Coal Mine Safety ordered the closure of 10 coal mines under the JMC. Two earlier blasts in the mining city of Jixi had killed 31 miners and injured 43 others in April this year.
China produces about a quarter of the world's coal. As the country's coal mine fatalities have reached 5,000 a year, the central government has tried to reduce its record as the world's deadliest coal producer by cracking down on small and often illegal mines in the country. But it is well-known that local authorities in mining areas often collude with mine operators to cover up unlawful and hazardous operations. Both private and state-owned mines often flagrantly violate safety regulations.
As a Jixi miner told China Labour Bulletin on 20 June, the introduction of privatization and sub-contracting is the underlying cause of hazardous operations as mine operators pursue competitive profit targets.
"Those who are in charge of safety have far less power than those in charge of production. This means safety comes second to production. Hence, [accidents] are inevitable. You haven't worked in the mine. If you have, you can see that if you don't break those safety regulations, there's no way you can operate. The production target figures that they [in the higher authorities] set have forced people [on the ground] to operate this [dangerous] way ", said the miner.
The absence of worker representation, a result of monopoly union rights by the government-controlled All-China Federation of Trade Unions, as well as the employment of rural migrants as temporary contract workers, rules out the possibility of tripartite consultation and monitoring of mine safety.
(Source: AFP, AP, BBC, China Daily, CLB, Financial Times (UK), People's Daily, Reuters, Xinhua.)
2002-06-25