[Marxism] Forwarded from China Labor Watch

[Louis Proyect <lnp3@xxxxxxxxx>]

Dear all,

Attached is my article published in the South China Morning Post on
February 22, 2005 on mine safety issues in China. Please take a look
at it when you have the chance.

Thank you!


Li Qiang

China Labor Watch

www.chinalaborwatch.org



Tuesday, February 22, 2005
The world's most dangerous job? (ÊÀ½çÉÏ×îΣÏÕ£¿£©

LI QIANG
The news of the death of 213 miners following a gas blast at a
colliery in Liaoning on February 14 barely registered outside China,
but it was further evidence of an ongoing tragedy, and symbolic of
the enormous human cost that China is paying for its phenomenal
economic growth.


Officially, more than 6,000 Chinese miners lose their lives each
year in industrial accidents. The real figure is believed to be much
higher, however, because operators often conceal accidents to avoid
fines and costly shutdowns.

China produces 35 per cent of the world's coal but accounts for 80
per cent of fatalities globally. The death rate is 30 times that of
South Africa and 100 times higher than in the United States. Mining
coal in China is probably the most dangerous job in the world.

These disasters devastate the communities where they occur, and have
become a national scandal. There have been demonstrations and
protests throughout the coal-mining regions. In 2001, the government
launched a campaign to regulate small, private mines, which had been
accused of lacking adequate safety equipment and having high
accident rates. Yet, thousands of these mines are still open or have
been reopened after being shut down for a short time. And they are
operating with the same outdated technology. In addition, the large
state-owned mines, which are generally thought to be better equipped
and therefore safer, are not much better. After every disaster, the
government proclaims another clean-up or modernisation programme.
Commissions are established and investigations initiated - and the
deaths go on.

The problem is that Beijing is devoted to a policy of economic
growth, regardless of the human cost. It is also devoted to its
monopoly of political power, which means there are no effective
counterweights to its control.

The rapidly growing economy places a high demand on energy, which
the coal mining industry can supply without advanced technology and
safer - but more expensive - equipment. It has an abundant supply of
workers, whose wages are kept artificially low by repressive
policies. In a system where lives are so cheap, there are huge
profits to be made - a powerful lure to maintain the status quo.

There are also political considerations. The Chinese government does
not allow miners to form independent trade unions to protect their
rights, nor does it allow non-governmental organisations to monitor
the safety of the industry. Of course, the miners know the dangers
they face, but they have no way of protecting their interests and
rights. They have no option but to go down the mine each day in
order to support their families.

Risking their lives, they barely make enough to survive - but they
have helped owners gain increasing wealth. This is Beijing's policy
of "letting some become rich first". The problem is that the rich
have remained a relatively small group and the majority is growing
increasingly angry.

To sum up, the reason for the frequent mining accidents is a
national strategy that puts economic growth above everything else.
Beijing, therefore, has an undeniable responsibility for the
shameful conditions in the industry.

The development of any society should not be achieved at the expense
of lives. We do not want to read more reports about top officials
going to accident sites, expressing their condolences and promising
to investigate. The cause is obvious, and so is the solution. There
is much talk these days about revaluing the yuan, but I would
suggest that China and the world would be a lot better off if we
placed a higher value on the lives of Chinese workers. What, after
all, is the point of economic growth that destroys the very people
who create it?

Li Qiang is executive director of China Labour Watch in New York.


Louis Proyect
Marxism list: www.marxmail.org 


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