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China is the world’s biggest coal producer and mining is an industry that is fuelling the country’s “economic miracle” of China with an average annual production of several hundred million tonnes of coal, writes Martin Banks.
But China also is home to one of the world’s most calamitous mining situations, already responsible for dozens of fatalities annually. The Chinese dream of a booming manufacturing sector, in many ways, is a veil for a system of forced labour, branded a form of 21st century slavery.
China’s economic globalization has witnessed massive migration of workers in recent years, specifically from the agro-rural areas, after the collapse of farming sector. Many migrants have sought employment in coal mines but their vulnerability makes them easy prey for exploitation, particularly from mid-career businessmen indulging in profitable but illegal coal mines in China.
Operating illegally by bribing provincial officials in remote areas of China, some shirk off their responsibilities in the event of accidents, such as underground explosions, collapse, or natural disaster.
Compensation is not paid to the workers and families are not informed about accidents. Unprotected clothing, lack of safety equipment, and poor housing have also damaged the health of workers.
Moreover, due to grinding poverty and lack of training and education, problems are aggravated by an alarmingly high accident and mortality rates. By taking up work in “illegal” coal mines, workers are stripped of their basic human dignity working in tunnels. To top it all, victims’ families say most accidents go unreported by the state-owned media.
Law enforcement bodies also fail to lend any help,a legal duty. Some widows of missing miners have expressed concern but the tacit accord between mine owners and local authorities ensure that victims’ bodies are hidden or disposed of without ever being recorded.
The safety and human rights of workers do not seem to have any significance for greedy owners of these coal mines. Carbon monoxide emission accidents point to inadequate safety regulations, inadequate equipment and lack of regulation but other issues include local government nepotism, chaotic management and the control of information.
There is also a serious shortage of coal mine engineers and technicians. Miners often state that there are constant problems with the ventilation systems of most state-owned local coal mines. But for the local governments, the priority of expending public money overrides improving working conditions of the mine.
This problems is systematic and has been operating with the help of local law enforcements agencies, curtailing the right to justice for victims who are often poverty-stricken and illiterate.
Little is heard about this but, recently, there has been a growing community consciousness of such injustices. Collectives have been formed and are demanding either the restructuring or closures of mines. Worker protests are also taking place, including demos in Heilongjiang and Jiangxi province where tens of thousands of mining workers clashed with the police in demonstrations. Protesters demanded fair wages but several were arrested and brutally beaten.
There are also environmental issues and mining areas are identified in many provinces with thick pollution clouds and dust, both permanently in the air.
The highly poisonous nature of many coal mines pose a risk of methane explosions, which could wreak havoc for the workers as well as nearby residents. In a country where cities are suffocating under a fog of pollution and growing public unease, China, the world’s leading emitter of CO2, merely introduces cosmetic policies and offers false promises, without mitigating the harm caused from coal mining.
As the production from state mines steadily drops and corporate giants take, more coal is being marketed on an unregulated “black market” in an attempt to push for development.
Coal is invariably extremely crucial in China as an energy source and also from a security point of view. So, there can be no excuse by the Chinese government to leave the industry unregulated and the lives of millions of workers at the mercy of corporate predators.
China’s hopes to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060, as declared by Xi Jinping. But, currently, this appears to be something of a distant dream.
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