Workplace safe is it possible or not 

cctv.com 07-21-2005 10:56

We begin this last segment of the news with our ongoing Labor Report series, and a focus on workplace safety. Nobody wants to see people hurt in the workplace, but injury and death are constant threats in China, especially in heavy industry. Shandong province, the second-largest coal producing region in China, has been successful in reducing mine accidents over the past few years. Our reporter Xu Zhaoqun was there to see if their experiences could help lower workplace injuries in other parts of the country.

Working beside the huge coal excavator, the miners of Chaili Coal Mine look calm and easy, with few of the fears prevalent in many other coalmines. Chaili is one of the largest coalmines in Shandong Province. The death toll in the province's coalmines decreased by almost 50 percent last year, compared to 2003.And the miners seem happy with the management of the mines.

Ran Zhongze, a miner of Chaili Coal Mine, Shandong Province said, "I have been working in this pit for more than two years. It is good to see that none of my colleagues have been seriously hurt here. You can see everything is in good order. Every job is done according to the rules. We are very proud to be part of the team."

There is even more for Ran and his colleagues to be proud of. The tunnels, which are almost 400 meters underground, are bright and neat. The control rooms for power supply and safety monitoring are comfortable. The miners even keep to the right when they are walking underground, as if they were walking on the pavement aboveground. All of this makes the mine seem more like a modern company than a traditionally dangerous coals mine.

Wang Yuhai, Head of Chaili Coal Mine, Shandong Province said, "We have learned a lot from the soldiers. The mine is now managed in a quasi-military way. Everyone knows clearly that a tiny breach of safety regulations may lead to a severe accident. We want every miner to abide by the rules, just as soldiers obey their superiors' orders."

Chaili Mine's experience has been publicised all over the province. In most coalmines, the management makes great efforts to educate the miners with safety examples. Miners have begun to realize the safety regulations are not there to limit their freedom underground, but to keep them safe from danger.

Wang Mingchan, President of Shandong Zaozhuang Mining Group, said, "Rules are easy to make, but hard to follow. Rules are not a piece of paper to be hung on the wall, they are not only for people to learn by heart. They must be something rooted in one's mind and become part of our consciousness."

While coalmines in Shandong are making significant progress in workplace safety, many other places in China have witnessed a huge number of workplace accidents over the last two years.

On February 14, more than two hundred people were killed at the Sunjiawan Coal Mine, Liaoning Province. Late last year, an explosion claimed about 160 lives in Chenjiashan Mine of Shaanxi Province. Last year, serious workplace accidents with a death toll of more than 30 increased by 17 percent.

Safety regulations in these places don't seem to have severe loopholes. The problem is that the regulations are simply considered scraps of paper, rather than rules to be followed.

Bu Changsen, Director of Shandong Coal Mine Industry Bureau said, "The safety consciousness is still a very weak point in the minds of many people who work in the industries which pose the greatest danger. They usually don't consider how dangerous the workplace can be, and never pay attention until the explosion blows everything sky-high."

Shandong' s success has proved that workplace safety is not only a possibility, but something which can be realized, as a top official from the State Bureau of Workplace Safety said: no accident is unavoidable.

Regardless of the differing opinions on the method Shandong mine authorities use, it's helped the mines lower the accident rate when other profit driven enterprises seem not to care about the cost in human lives. The quasi-military training may not be as useful in Chaili as in other places. But, it's time both for mine owners and workers to understand the cardinal principle in the workplace: safety first.

Editor:Wang  Source:CCTV.com