(Broadcast on July 13, 2002)
The past two weekends, I [Han Dongfang -- Ed.] broadcast my conversations with a Jixi miner talking about the mines safety problems. He said the output was the most important thing in the mine, and profit was the most important in the eyes of the subcontractors, who forced the miners to work really hard in the shaft to achieve the quota. At the same time, the mine owner and subcontractors were passing to each other the responsibility for investing in safety installations and training. This miner, who has worked in the mine for over 17 years, believes the situation will make it impossible to avoid a serious mine accident. With his own extensive experience, he is painting a vivid picture of the state enterprise reform and the suffering it brought to the workers.
Miner:
Earlier, if you worked in the shaft and you hurt yourself particularly badly, and you had to come up to work (on the ground), they didnt get your grade demoted. Now there is no way out; you leave the shaft and they deduct one grade from your salary.
Han Dongfang:
Which means that you came up to work (on the ground) in 1994, and they still deducted one grade from your salary?
Miner:
Oh yes, they deducted one grade from my salary because I still can move my shoulders and hands.
Han:
So if you are sick now and you go to have a check-up, would the mine reimburse the medical fee?
Miner:
No, they wont.
Han:
Is there a regulation not to pay, or is there a regulation to pay, but they wont because they have no money?
Miner:
According to the regulation, they should pay 70 percent. But no matter why you approach them, you just get one sentence: No money! Nothing you can do.
Han:
If you want to see the doctor now, do you have to pay for it first?
Miner:
Yes, I do. I would have to pay for it all. My two children are at university and I went to the mine to get my salary in arrears, but they wouldnt give me a cent. Nothing you can do. Borrow a bit from here and there, and do some other work, thats how it is.
Han:
So you borrowed most of it
Miner:
Of course, what can you do? It is like this; if you can still work, you cannot go to the hospital; you are just wasting your money seeing the doctor. Besides, there is no use finding out what the problem is; it only becomes a worry.
Han:
Is it no use to find out what is wrong, because it only becomes a problem?
Miner:
Of course! If you really have to go to have a check up, there is nothing you can do.
Han:
What do you do if you have no money?
Miner:
Get some.
Han:
If you go to the hospital to see the doctor with an emergency, then
Miner:
Who cares? You think of a way out yourself.
Han:
If a miner is sick but having gone to the hospital he has no money, then what happens?
Miner:
You have no money on hand? Then dont bother going! It is like this now; it is all like this.
Han:
They dont take care of emergency cases either?
Miner:
They dont if you dont pay.
Han:
Have you seen such a case?
Miner:
I have this partner who, on the ninth of the second month, suddenly had his heart and lungs hurting like hell. He was rolling around and screaming in pain. They had to take him to the city hospital. In the hospital he was asked for a deposit, but he didnt bring money with him. He had to borrow from a friend. So what could they do? His wife went to the mining unit the next day, and back and forth for a whole week, but she didnt get anything, not a cent
Finally he had to rely on his friends to be able to see the doctor. No way! Even if you go directly to the office, you wont get anything.
Han:
Do you know this person?
Miner:
Yes, pretty well.
Han:
So was he able to see the doctor at the end?
Miner:
At the end his friends paid for it. These days, if it is not a work accident, the doctor wont see you if you dont pay the deposit; even if you pay the fee, once you run out of money, they stop the medication immediately! If you have no money, dont dream of seeing the doctor. The mine owes you money, but you cant get money out of them. If you have no money but you want to see the doctor, you have to pay for it. They [the mining unit] are supposed to reimburse you, but dont think of getting that money -- there is no money; you wont get it.
Han:
What do you think, as a worker, of sayings like the workers are the masters of the country and the country is led by the working class?
Miner:
Nothing we can do. A few years ago they still gave you a few bloody pills and some medicine, but this year there is nothing, nothing.
Han:
So, as a worker, do you still feel that you are the master of the country?
Miner:
There are some damned things we cannot say, we dare not say! Do you understand? There are some truths people cannot say.
Han:
It looks like you also have these worries, right?
Miner:
Well, yes. When you speak out, f
it, they will look for you, twist you around, and then send you home. They kick you out and then what? What can you do?
Han:
Has anything like that happened before?
Miner:
Could it not happen?
Han:
What has happened? What do you know?
Miner:
Listen, the year before, the wife of one of the work mates got this blood clotting disease in the brain. She was hospitalised in the Mining Bureau Hospital. They needed some money, so her husband went to the mine, and asked the head of the mine to sign and release his salary in arrears. The boss got angry, and immediately told the team to dismiss him the next day and send him home. Nothing you can do. Life sucks, they have the power in their hands, isnt that right?
Han:
You have told me a lot of things today.
Miner:
Yes, I told you a lot of things. They can do whatever they want with me! I am already 56 years old this year. I dont care.
Han:
How many years do you have until retirement?
Miner:
Ah, not long! Strictly speaking, I should be retiring this year. I am 56. Ive spent fifteen or sixteen years working in the shaft; its soon gonna be 20 years.
Han:
So adding it all up, you should be retiring soon?
Miner:
Thats right.
Han:
Is there any security here with the present pension package?
Miner:
The old guys (pensions) are now all secure; it is the workers salaries which are not secure. Fxxx it!
Han:
Is that why you would like to retire as soon as possible?
Miner:
Yes, right. Starting from last year, there is this f
ing new regulation. The more industrial injuries you have, the less likely you can retire.
Han:
Why?
Miner:
Industrial injuries! Didnt we get wounded working for the mine! The mine will keep you to do whatever you can still do. Absolutely no retirement until you reach that age. In the past, all those with work disabilities retired. F
ing 38, 39 or 40ish, they all retired when salaries were still high. They could do whatever they wanted afterwards. Not anymore, these last two years. It is only getting worse.
Han:
Does it mean there is no more early retirement for those with work disabilities?
Worker:
Oh, yes, thats right.
Han:
Apart from these industrial accidents, are circumstances of those with pneumoconiosis, for example, still all right?
Miner:
What?
Han:
Pneumoconiosis.
Miner:
Pneumoconiosis has to be diagnosed at the Mining Bureau Hospital. Its not even mentioned in these past few years.
Han:
When you were still mining down the shafts, did you do yearly pneumoconiosis check-ups?
Miner:
None, never. If you are sick you go to the hospital yourself, and thats it. No special arrangement for workers to check for pneumoconiosis. Never.
Han:
Not even in the seventies?
Miner:
Never!
Han:
Didnt workers get regular sanatorium treatment?
Miner:
Oh, wow, yes, indeed! Youve got to know, there were very few places for the sanatorium treatment. Would they give it to you if you didnt have some backdoor? How come you are still so na鴳e?
Han:
So you have never done any check-ups ever since you worked underground in the seventies?
Miner:
No.
Han:
Not in the whole 15 years you were down the mine?
Miner:
No. It was 17 years.
Han:
17 years?
Miner:
Right. And Ive never had a check-up. I stayed 20 odd days in hospital because of industrial casualty. After I was discharged from hospital I followed up for a month with treatment. Back to work in half a year.
Han:
Is it common that the miners lungs deteriorate when they retire and get old?
Miner:
Quite a lot. Quite a lot, but you still wont make it [classified as occupational disease]. In a nutshell, if you dont f..king know somebody, you wont f..king get it classified. You really have to be in a bad shape, and if you know the right people, you can be classified into third grade or first grade. Its all f..king like this now.
Han:
So how about you? Are your lungs still holding out fine?
Miner:
Not too strong either.
Han:
Did you go to check them yourself?
Miner:
No. In any case Im still
..I dont need check-ups if Im still alive. Now this breathing difficulty, these lungs are breathing so hard. I feel suffocating.
Han:
Are you feeling suffocating now?
Miner:
Yes!
Han:
When did it start?
Miner:
Oh! Ten years ago, and its getting worse.
Han:
Getting worse?
Miner:
Yes.
Han:
Why dont you go to have it checked?
Miner:
You know these workers that we are, we are f
ing nothing, do you understand? Check-ups cost money, and money is very difficult to come by. You must know this too. In these past few years, we didnt get our full pay or even any pay at all. Anyway, with what Ive got, we dont even have enough for our food, with my two kids studying at university. One is at Heilongjiang University, the other at Daqing Petroleum Institute. What it means is that youre hard up and tired. You cant do anything. You cant go to the hospital unless you are collapsing.. By then, its hard to tell whats gonna happen. Its so hard!
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The other two parts in this series:
Unsafe Production and Unpaid Wages -- A Senior Coal Miner Talks (1) 2002-06-28
Subcontracted Mines Leave No Room for Safety -- From a Jixi Miner (2) 2002-07-06