Little Hope Left for 77 Trapped Miners

Poverty, privatisation, a ban on independent trade unions and a lack of investment continue to push coal-mining fatalities to horrific levels in China. The latest large-scale tragedy unfolded when an explosion tore through five work areas in the illegally run Wufu mine in the Jiawang district of Xuzhou city in Jiangsu province. Xuzhou is approximately 220 miles north of the provincial capital Nanjing. A build up of gas led to the explosion, a factor that causes over 50% of accidents in China’s coal mines.

The explosion took place at 9.13am on July 22nd 2001. Officials said that 106 miners were trapped 260 metres underground and by Monday afternoon China Central Television reported that 16 bodies had been recovered and 13 miners rescued, most in a critical condition. An official from a nearby state-owned mine said that there was little hope left for those still trapped.

The privately operated mine was ordered to cease production just over a month ago, on June 15, 2001, after China’s State Council had ordered all small-scale mines to shut down for safety checks. However, the mine contractor waited just a month before illegally restarting production on July 17th. He did not have safety clearance and was arrested immediately after the blast.

Despite pitiful wages and notoriously dangerous working conditions, poverty often leaves rural labourers with no choice but to take jobs in small coal mines and shafts sub-contracted to private operators. Privatisation and the restructuring of China’s coal industry has resulted in mine shafts belonging to many smaller state-owned mines being subcontracted out in this way. Reports from Jiangsu have not specified if the Xuzhou mine was previously a state-owned operation prior to being contracted out to private production. However, this is highly likely.

China’s appalling record is directly related to the government’s refusal to allow independent trade unions to organise and negotiate for safer working conditions. Industrial relations in the coal industry are in a state of chaos with many miners at state-owned mines openly protesting against wage arrears and closures. Earlier this month, up to 10,000 miners in the northeastern province of Jilin launched a strike after many of them had gone without wages for as long as 30 months. In other parts of the country, miners have blocked railway lines and fought pitched battles with police during work-related protests.

(HK: SCMP 23/07/01, China: Xinhua 22/07/01)

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Casualty Update at 6pm 23/07/01: 38 miners bodies recovered a further 54 feared dead (Xinhua). Local authorities have not explained conflicting reports on casualty numbers.

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