According to information received on July 26, 2002 from the State Administration for Coal Mine Safety Supervision (SACMSS) a gas explosion occurred on July 24, at 7pm at the Taojiawan coal mine. The Taojiawan pit is in Yushe town, Shuicheng county, Liupanshui city in Guizhou province. Initial reports stated that there were 25 people working in the pit at the time of whom18 were killed and seven injured. The local Liupanshui Daily not only failed to report the accident, but also actually ran an article two days after the accident with the title "Liupanshui Coal Management Turns the Corner".
An editor from the news agency explained to China Labour Bulletin (CLB) that from their experience, local authorities did not give an honest count of fatalities -- they would say two and the next day it turned out to be three. To avoid inaccurate reporting, the local party committee required that they reported on the official version of events upon investigation into the accidents.
Meanwhile, CLB talked to three injured miners in the disaster, who were still undergoing treatment at Yushe Town Hospital. They described typical working conditions in the mine and also why they were prepared to leave their villages and risk their lives digging coal.
One of them was from the neighbouring province of Yunnan, who had been at the mine for three days only. Out of poverty back home, this 50-year-old farmer went down the shaft to earn extra cash to buy fertiliser and to pay for the kids education. He said that they did not have any labour protection or safety training, and that there was no ventilation equipment in the 200-meter one-eyed shaft. They were not even provided with coal trucks miners like him carried 60-90 kilos of coal in wicker baskets from the coalface. For this, they were paid Rmb two (USD 0.2) for every 100 kilos, and he was earning Rmb 10 (USD 1.2) each day. Compared to the dismal stipend for coal carrying, it worked at Rmb 7 (USD 0.8) per 100 kilos of coal dug.
Another injured miner that CLB talked with came from a similar background. He was a 25-year-old farmer from a neighbouring town, and he was married with a three-year-old son. Talking about how he started to work at the mine, he said, We're in trouble at home. We've got land but no money
... We can't make ends meet just by working the land. Way out of his expectation, he was injured in the explosion on his very first day at Taojiawan Coal Mine.
Confirmed by Liupanshui Coal Bureau chief, Mr. Jiang, the mine in question was an illegal pit. Nonetheless, he declined to give further comment on possible involvement of local village officials, saying that the investigation was still under way. But he made a concise conclusion on the problem of closing down small-scale coal pits, which saw a constant supply of peasant-miners from poverty-stricken villages.
Put it like this
..We turn up and shut them down; they reopen and operate secretly. Who is going to invest in a mine that operates illegally? Moreover, they wont dare to use any ventilation equipment as this would mean they get caught more easily?
Ironically, the national policy of limiting coal production by shutting the small unsafe mines and controlling the price makes it a lucrative business to run illegal pits.
Seeing the local economic needs, Mr. Jiang suggested that [o]ur idea is to integrate closure with development. Instead of simply closing down the pits, which was a rather difficult task, we should develop the ones with investment potential and proper permits..
. [B]y developing these safer legal mines we can address the problem of surplus labour in poor areas where they are solely reliant on subsistence farming and provide a way out for the surplus labour, elaborated Mr. Jiang.
Obviously, Mr. Jiangs ideas came from the concrete context of the local economy and employment concerns. However, despite his efforts in reporting the problems to the higher authorities over the past two years, he did not even get a note of acknowledgement from those high up.
It has always been CLBs position that simply closing the small pits is no solution at all to the notorious safety record in Chinas coal mining industry. While we are not in the position to offer concrete suggestions as those from Mr. Jiang, CLB holds onto one fundamental principle that the coal miners should be the frontline guardians of their own health and safety. Representative organisations like health and safety committees democratically elected by the miners should be allowed to function at all types of pits.
That the miners enjoy the rights to protect their safety at work has long been laid down in numerous laws and regulations, including the right to refuse working in dangerous conditions. The National Safe Production Law, recently passed on June 29, 2002, basically reiterates previous legal provisions. Against this background, the Chinese government should take a further step breaking the monopoly of the official All-China Federation of Trade Unions, and respecting the basic workers rights of free association.
China Labour Bulletin
2002-08-21
Interviews with the Injured Miners and Liupanshui Coal Bureau Chief
Liupanshui Coal Bureau Chief On the Problems of China's Coal Policy