china-coal-mine.jpg (Photo : Reuters )
According to Shanghai Daily on Dec. 24, Wednesday, the director of the State Administration of Work Safety, Yang Dongliang, was balanced in his appraisal of the year before the the National People's Congress Standing Committee.
Although the first 11 months of the year represented significant improvements compared to the same period in 2013, Yang was also upfront about the safety issues that continue to present risks for the Chinese people.
The major achievements for the 11-month period that were presented at the bimonthly meeting provided details of the following: a 4.7-percent reduction in the number of workplace accidents, with a total of 269,000; a 6.1-percent reduction of the death toll to 57,000 fatal incidents; and a fall of 24.5 percent, to 37 percent, in the number of "serious and extremely serious accidents."
Also, the "serious and extremely serious accidents" caused fewer deaths in 2014; the total number of fatalities went down by 18.3 percent, leaving a total of 685.
In regard to the "serious and extremely serious accidents"--defined in 2007 as those incidents that result in 10 to 30 deaths, 50 to 100 serious injuries, or direct economic losses of between 50 million and 100 million yuan--Yang spoke specifically about the coal mining industry.
He said: "Coal mine accidents dropped by 12 percent and the death toll was down by 10.6 percent."
The reasons for the 2014 improvement included more severe punishments for those who breach the work safety laws. Out of the 1,613 people caught out during the 11 months, 509 criminal charges were laid.
The outstanding problems identified by Yang included around 65,000 kilometers of highways on which major dangers still exist, workplaces that are not sufficiently prepared for emergencies, and large gaps in the number of workers who have completed safety training.
