In the afternoon of 22 September, a gas explosion which killed 8 miners, broke out at the Pinggang Coalmine, a coalmine operated by Jixi Mining Bureau in the province of Heilongjiang. On the same day, according to the Workers Daily, a proposal to involving as many as possible workers in trade unions was passed as the main goal for the future at the All-China Federation of Trade Unions [ACFTU] 14th National Congress in Beijing. Shi Jing, trade union representative from Heilongjing, spoke to the Workers Daily and said that in Wang Zhaoguos [the Chairman of ACFTU] report, one of the objectives in the coming year is to improve the structure of trade unions, especially among private-owned enterprises and migrant workers. Shi said that private-owned enterprises had become an important sector in the socialist economy and that the role of the trade union, in enhancing the relationship between enterprises and workers and guarding workers rights was a crucial and urgent priority. He added that organizing trade unions in the private sector had become the most important part of the trade union work in China. However, was Shi Jing describing the real work of the trade union?An interview with an official of Jixi Mining Bureau Trade Union [JMBTU], Mr. Li, on 24 September, two days after the fatal accident might give us an insight.
JMBTU:
That is a small pit and those workers are not from the Pinggang Coalmine, they didnt let us get involved.
Han Dongfang [Han]:
Who didnt let you get involved?
JMBTU:
My seniors.
Han:
Where are those workers from?
JMBTU:
I am not so sure about their terms of employment.
Han:
But isnt the site [the pit] located at the coalmine?
JMBTU:
Yes, but it is not under Pinggang Coalmines management.
Han:
You mean the pit has been subcontracted out? By whom?
JMBTU:
How could I know? I have no idea about your questions.
Han:
As it happened in a coalmine under the mining bureau, dont you think the mining bureau trade union should take care of it, such as
?
JMBTU:
Well, lets say, if our mining bureaus employees are involved in this case, we would for sure deal with it, but the point is, they are not our bureaus employees and we wont get ourselves involved.
Han:
But they are still miners, workers.
JMBTU:
No, they are not our miners.
Han:
I mean the trade union
JMBTU:
Dont you get this? That pit is not operated by Jixi Mining Bureau. Its close geographical linkage has nothing to do with its management. They are two different things. Do you understand?
Han:
Then is it run by the town or someone else?
JMBTU:
Who knows? I dont know and those are simply not our workers, so why should we care? As the enterprises trade union, we serve only our enterprises workers. We dont bother ourselves with other workers and we cant take care of all workers, right? You cant say we have to serve all those poor proletarians, do you understand this logic?
Han:
Then who is going to guard those workers rights?
JMBTU:
Well, I have no idea, they dont work for the Jixi Mining Group Company and we, as the enterprises trade union, couldnt help them anyway.
Mr. Li has clearly indicated that the trade union would not guard the rights of those miners working in the small mines. Then how about the state-owned enterprises fixed term[officially contracted] employees? Have their rights been well protected? The following interview with a female worker from Pinggang Coalmine, a coalmine officially run by Jixi Mining Bureau, tells the story of the life of fixed term employees.
Worker:
[The explosion] happened in a small pit, the migrant workers got killed, they are not from our mining bureau. They are paid by their production rate and not the same way as us. The mining bureaus employees, like us, in subsidiary units, would get 200 Yuan or so.
Han:
But are you fixed term [workers]?
Worker:
Yes, but they are not, they are paid according to how much they produce.
Han:
Generally speaking, how much do they earn?
Worker:
Some earn 1,000 Yuan or so, that is not bad.
Han:
Does the mining bureau employ miners?
Worker:
Oh yes.
Han:
How much do they make?
Worker:
Damn it, we receive only 50 percent [of wages] these last months.
Han:
You got only 50 percent of your original wage these months?
Worker:
50 percent. Some have received only 200 Yuan or so.
Han:
Including those frontline miners working down in the pit?
Worker:
Indeed.
Han:
Have you complained?
Worker:
Yes but it didnt work.
Han:
Have you tried a collective complaint?
Worker:
Once but not any more, workers are too simpleminded and dont make complaints.
Han:
Why not anymore?
Worker:
Hmm
I dont really know. I work in a subsidiary unit serving the frontline workers, like sewing their clothes, repairing their boots, this type of work. I get 150 to 160 Yuan. If they pay me 70 percent of my wages, I can get 210 Yuan but even if they give me the full payment, I wont get any more than 300 Yuan.
Han:
Do you have medical insurance?
Worker:
No.
Han:
No medical insurance at all?
Worker:
No, nothing.
Han:
How do you deal with your medical fees then?
Worker:
We pay them ourselves.
Han:
Do you have to pay even in the hospital run by the mining bureau?
Worker:
Sure, no privileges for us. It used to be that the coalmine reimbursed us if we were hospitalized, but not anymore.
Han:
And who pays for your pension insurance?
Worker:
I heard that it didnt exist anymore. That amount used to be deducted from our wages but the coalmine stopped paying that sum to the insurance company.
Han:
But such a practice violates the Labour Law, dont you know?
Worker:
Violation of the Labour Law
we dont know any of this and well
what can we do?
Han:
What do you think about those migrant workers in the coalmine? Who are better off - you or them?
Worker:
Nearly the same. Although we are [official] workers under the mining bureau, we earn much less than those migrant miners.
Han:
Then what privileges do you workers enjoy but not the migrant workers?
Worker:
Pits run by the mining bureau are safer.
Han:
Your coalmines are safer?
Worker:
Right.
Han:
That means you workers risk less?
Worker:
Exactly.
Han:
Are those pits subcontracted out?
Worker:
Yes, they are subcontracted to individuals, which is illegal but basically, you can get one here if you have the money.
Han:
To whom do people apply to in order to get a sub-contract?
Worker:
You can apply as long as you have money, but workers have no money for this.
Han:
I mean the pit where the accident took place, who signed the approval for that subcontracted project?
Worker:
Well, there is nothing really like a contract here. It used to be that the mine manager ordered us to hand in our production to the coalmine, but now it is to those individuals who run the pits.
Han:
Doesnt that pit belong to your coalmine?
Worker:
I guess so but nobody really handles the case.
Han:
Doesnt the coalmine know about it?
Worker:
Sure it does, the mining bureau knows it well too. For some time the practice [subcontracting] was banned rather strictly but after a while, the old story repeats itself..
Han:
Then who would be held responsible? It cant be that anyone can come to the coalmine and exploit a pit of his choice.
Worker:
Nobody knows, cash is the king nowadays and you can do whatever you want with it. For example, if I am the mine manager and you want to subcontract a pit, you can have it as long as you pay me.
Han:
Is it really like this?
Worker:
Of course it is.
Han:
If it wasnt like this then they wouldn't dare to act in this way.
Worker:
Exactly, those subcontractors are either leaders [of the mining bureau] or rich people. We workers cant afford it.
Han:
So it is the leader of the coalmine exploiting the mines illegally?
Worker:
Yes, leaders relatives would get [contracts for] those mining areas which have an abundant supply [of coal].
Han:
Are you taking about the bigger coalmines?
Worker:
Yes.
Han:
How about the small pits?
Worker:
Same.
Han:
You mean those pits are run by the leaders relatives as well?
Worker:
Yes.
Han:
Who is running the pit where the accident broke out?
Worker:
The Wangs, they are the locals here, very rich indeed. It is said that they [the Wang couple] have fled already.
Han:
How can that be possible with all their belongings here?
Worker:
Well, you never know.
Han:
For those miners killed, how much would their families get as compensation?
Worker
Before it was 30,000 Yuan or at most 40,000 Yuan. Now the maximum is 50,000 Yuan in reality, although the official document says it should be 100,000 Yuan for victims in the small pits.
Han:
100,000 Yuan for one life?
Worker:
Yes, cheap, isnt it? But they used to get much less than 100,000 Yuan.
Han:
Do you know if such subcontracting is common?
Worker:
Oh, a lot here. I can recall at least 20 to 30 run by individuals.
Han:
Are they the same as the one we talked about?
Worker:
Yes, exactly the same.
Han:
Are those miners migrant workers?
Worker:
Yes, they are non-locals but we locals work with them as well. In our case... this year is not too bad, but last year and two and three years ago, we received only four months wages each year.
Han:
Are workers from your coalmine working for them [in the individual-operated pits]?
Worker:
Yeah, some of them. Like if one earns 500 Yuan in a subsidiary unit like mine and if he has to send kids to school, then that amount is definitely not enough. There is no other way besides working for those pits.
Han:
Even if they know it is very dangerous?
Worker:
Well, there is no other way. We have to live, right? I told others that I earned 200 Yuan and people simply couldnt believe me, they couldnt imagine how I survived with such little money. But it is life. You know the mining bureau owes us more than 40 months of wages.
Han:
How many months?
Worker:
More than 40.
Han:
More than 40 months wage-arrears?
Worker:
Yes.
Han:
How about in your case?
Worker:
Same, more than 40 months.
Han:
Are other workers in the same situation?
Worker:
Right, we are all the same, paid in the same way. I have a miner neighbour, he works as a chief underground and this month he was paid 210 Yuan.
Han:
Is that 70 percent of his wages?
Worker:
70 percent yes. You should investigate our case and help us out. You know our contracts stated that wage-arrears are not allowed and both [the coalmine and employees] signed those, but the problem of wage-arrears keeps continuing.
Han:
Have you applied for labour dispute arbitration?
Worker:
Labour dispute arbitration? What is that?
Han:
To file a complaint with the Labour Dispute Arbitration Committee.
Worker:
We dont have it here, I have never heard of any labour dispute arbitration committees.
Han:
Impossible, the Jixi Labour Bureau must have Labour Dispute Arbitration Committees.
Worker:
We havent heard of this, none of us here have and who shall we sue after all? Even if we made a road-blocking protest, the problem still exists. The 70 percent we get - it should be 70 percent of our wages, but they count everything in. For example, our five Yuan single-child subsidy - the whole year is 60 Yuan and that is now distributed at only 70 percent - but that sum is paid by the country, unlike our wages. I really dont know to whom we should ask to claim our money back.
Han:
You are the victims and you should fight for your rights.
Worker:
Yes
but
goodness
nobody makes a move; we workers are too simpleminded to act.
Han:
But your rights are being trampled on and it is perfectly correct for you to defend yourself. You are not offending others for no reason.
Worker:
Our place, Pinggang has some projects and it is said that the government has invested 300,000,000 Yuan here but we have no idea where that money has gone.
Han:
That is another issue, we are not talking about that investment at the moment. Your wages should be repaid in full, it is the only legal way.
Worker:
But lots of unlawful things are happening here, you dont have the full picture of the mining bureau.
Han:
Do the workers intend to fight for your rights?
Worker:
Yes but who is going to make the initial move? To whom shall we start protesting? Our mine manager would only say this is how it is.
Han:
What is the trade union doing then?
Worker:
What is the use of the trade union? It works with the bureau leaders. Do you think it would serve the workers?
Han:
It shouldnt be like this, the Trade Union Law requires them to represent the workers.
Worker:
No, we women workers used to have work protection but now we dont.
Han:
How about now?
Worker:
No, we dont have it.
Han:
Did you know that the ACFTUs 14th National Congress is taking place in Beijing now?
Worker:
No, I didnt know.
Han:
The trade union chairpersons of your mining bureau and the Jixi municipal trade union are there discussing how to guard the workers rights.
Worker:
Discussions are just talks; we have to see what they come out with in the end.
Han:
The Trade Union Law states that a trade union must
Worker:
Defend the workers rights?
Han:
Right, otherwise the workers can sue it for not fulfilling its responsibilities.
Worker:
Where can we make a legal claim?
Han:
First the trade union doesnt defend your rights and you should have sued it and second the enterprise owes you your wages but still you dont take any legal action, now what do you think should be done?
Worker:
Well, we have to live with it.
Han:
Then who is coming to rescue you?
Worker:
Nobody! We can simply forget our wage-arrears, they will never come back. We workers are really chickenhearted and we just cant bring ourselves to protest. We dont know how to deal with our leaders for they dont care about the wage-arrears, they have enough money to spend themselves.
Han:
That is true. It is difficult to figure a way out.
Worker:
Right, very difficult indeed.
Han:
Oh and I hope I didnt disturb you with my call.
Worker:
Oh its fine, I am in fact very happy to talk with you, to tell you the truth.
Han:
Is it ok that I leave you my phone number?
Worker:
Sure.
Han:
Call me on 108-852-27802187 if you need something.
Worker:
Thank you.
Han:
Welcome. Take care and goodbye!
Worker:
Bye!
Han:
Bye!