Subcontracted Mines Leave No Room for Safety -- From a Jixi Miner (2)

(Broadcast on July 6, 2002)

Last Saturday I broadcast part one of a discussion I had with a miner from the Jixi Mining Bureau with 17 years’ experience at the coalface. He talked about serious wage arrears owed to former miners employed in the state-owned mine and the subsequent loss of increasing numbers of skilled and experienced miners who are leaving the industry as a result. In response, the mine bureau has resorted to subcontracted labour from outside. A large number of such subcontracted work teams with minimal or no knowledge of safety techniques are working at the coalface and this is one of the main reasons behind the increasing number of accidents in the coal industry. Today, we broadcast the second part of our discussion in which we hear how the subcontracting system blurs the health and safety chain of responsibility and how this has become a hidden factor underlying the continued tragedy.

Han Dongfang (Han):

Where are these young miners coming from?

Miner:

Well they are graduates from the previous technical school. They are sent here.

Han:

And the wages of older miners are dropping?

Miner:

They are basically the same. Bastards they are. You earn 10 bucks and I earn 10 bucks. You earn a ton (100 bucks) and so do I.

Han:

Didn’t you say the new guys were on Rmb 90?

Miner:

For sure. They are on a basic of Rmb 90 and I am on a basic of 270. Logically speaking, once the basic is paid, we should be sharing the rest equally. But it doesn’t work like this. Management hands out a few hundred bucks [to a team] and we have to divide it up amongst ourselves! One hundred or whatever each. It’s based on a division of the total amount and there are no differentials according to the basic or seniority. The senior men with the skills are not prepared to go along with this, so they get in some of the younger ones. This is what I am getting at. So the bastards lean on people like me. I am the wrong side of 50 years old and these youngsters are 23 or 24 years old and on a pretty good rate. This is what management is up to – getting rid of seniority and putting us all on the same rate so that we older miners end up packing our bags.

Han:

What you are saying is that although in theory the basic is different – the younger miners on Rmb 90 per month and the senior men on Rmb 200 plus, in practice it is simply divided up among the work team.

Miner:

You’ve got it.

Han:

So how much did you take home in February this year?

Miner:

Rmb 648.

Han:

Rmb 648?

Miner:

That’s right.

Han:

And everyone is on the same rate, regardless of age or experience?

Miner:

Differentials were just three, five, ten, or eight bucks. Same work for the same pay. The skilled old guys are not doing the fxxking job. I don’t want to talk out of line but let the young guys do it – go down the shaft if that’s want they want!

Han:

Who actually pays the ‘agreement workers’?

Miner:

It’s all on piece rates depending how much coal you dig. Everyone’s the same when it comes to pay. It’s set by the mine management with the subcontractors.

Han:

Who does the mine management give the wages to?

Miner:

To the gang boss.

Han:

To the gang boss?

Miner:

That’s right.

Han:

How many miners does a gang boss usually have under him?

Miner:

Depends on the type of work. If they are contracted to work on the surface then there won’t be that many in one team, normally about 20 to 30 people. If they are at the face, then we’re looking at 150, 160 up to 200 or more miners.

Han:

There are more people when they are working at the coalface?

Miner:

Any less and there wouldn’t be enough. On some seams there are more than 100. If they are working two or three seams, then as many as 300 miners are needed.

Han:

Does the mine management have any say in their wages?

Miner:

They have nothing to do with it. They subcontract the work out on cash terms and that’s that. How the money is spent is up to the gang boss. After that, it’s down to what gear is left for you in the coal trucks and if you haven’t got all the gear you need then what you going to do? “Haul it up and get on with it” is the gang bosses’ answer to that.

Han:

What kind of gear are you talking about?

Miner:

I’ll give you an example. I need timber right [for safety supports – Ed.]. What if I can’t get any? The gang boss will say, “Forget it!” Now don’t tell me that isn’t going to lead to accidents. The gang boss isn’t going to spend money buying timber supports. That’s the way it goes.

Han:

But if the timber is needed who is supposed to pay for it?

Miner:

Well the mine management certainly isn’t bothered, is it? All they are interested in paying for is the coal. Anything else is down to the subcontractors.

Han:

So the safety facilities are the responsibility of the subcontracting team?

Miner:

That’s about right. Timber…It’s the same for sand, stone blocks, all down to the subcontractors.

Han:

The mine bureau management doesn’t concern itself with any of this?

Miner:

They’re not bothered.

Han:

But the mines belong to the bureau and are their assets.

Miner:

Correct. But it’s all contracted out and all they will pay for is the coal the subcontractors come back with.

Han:

In reality, they are really subcontracting the shaft itself.

Miner:

Yes, that’s right.

Han:

And you’re going to get accidents for sure.

Miner:

Can’t be avoided. It’s all too easy.

Han:

And as a result the lives of miners are under direct threat.

Miner:

Correct.

Han:

And what does the trade union do about all this?

Miner:

[Laughing] Those bastards. What’s the point of talking about it? You should talk to them direct if you really want to know what they are like. The whole bloody thing doesn’t make sense to me. Are those guys really going to help us?

Han:

Is there still a union branch at the mine?

Miner:

For sure. Every department has one.

Han:

Is there still a branch for face workers?

Miner:

Yes.

Han:

So there is definitely a trade union for face workers?

Miner:

Yes. There is one covering the West 2 area where the accident happened. There are East and West sides in Area 2.

Han:

There is a union branch covering the West 2 area?

Miner:

They all have them.

Han:

Who do you think I should go to if I want to find out more about the situation for the face workers in the shaft where the explosion took place?

Miner:

All the men at the face are dead. There’s no one left to ask, is there? The miners who weren’t so near the blast, something like several hundred meters away, fled immediately after the fxxking thing went up. All the men up front are dead – finished.

Han:

Do you know any of the men who were killed?

Miner:

I know some of the men who died and some of those who got out. They lived close by.

Han:

Close by where you live?

Miner:

Yes. I have worked at the face with some of the dead miners before.

Han:

Have you ever been injured?

Miner:

Oh yes.

Han:

What kind of injury?

Miner:

Head, arm, and shoulder. Both my shoulder and arm have been broken. I had head injuries from my left ear down to my eye – broken bones, and my eyes were injured as well.

Han:

How did it happen?

Miner:

At the seam’s face. A roof support beam collapsed.

Han:

Were you trapped or crushed in the shaft?

Miner:

Yes. April 13, 1979. Oh, I could still remember this one. Just couldn’t get it out of my mind.

Han:

Sounds like a very close brush with death.

Miner:

It was. My head was cracked into three and my eye(s), lips, shoulders and arm(s) were all damaged.

Han:

And you haven’t worked at the face since then?

Miner:

No. When I had recovered I was allocated a coal truck operator in the shaft and then I moved to the surface in ‘94.

Han:

What grade of injury was it? [Industrial injuries in China are graded from one through to six with the most serious being six - Ed].

Miner:

The bastards wouldn’t give me a definite grade. Nothing in fact.

Han:

No grade despite all that?

Miner:

No. When I got those serious injuries I just told you about, I had to work on the surface as I was in no shape to work at the face. This is effectively a downgrade and that usually means less cash at the end of the month. So I was injured, got no compensation and was downgraded in the bargain!

Han:

So in ’94 when you began work on the surface, you were downgraded and got paid less as a result?

Miner:

Yes, by one grade. I can still move my arms and hands.

Please tune in for next Saturday for a continuation of this miner’s story.

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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

What Does the State Enterprise Reform Mean to the Workers? – From a Jixi Miner (3) 2002-07-13