“You'll Be Fired if You Refuse” - Human Rights Watch

frequent, that two to three a week is model. We have tried to convey that
this isn’t China, that standards are different, but it has been difficult. 157
Several other miners at CLM said the rise in accidents would have been even worse were it
not for the considerable experience of the miners at CLM; indeed, almost every miner there
interviewed by Human Rights Watch had worked in the mine, through various ownership
changes, for more than 15 years. However, the Chinese management’s treatment of safety
officers had become so bad, according to one underground miner who was also a local
union official, that three safety officers had recently resigned:
You cannot compare the Chinese [investors] to any of our previous
employers on the enforcement of safety regulations, they are much worse.
Normally, if you find an area that is not well ventilated, maybe the safety
officer closes it off until the situation is better. But with the Chinese, they’ll
threaten the safety officer and then he’ll rescind the decision. It’s been so
bad that three guys from the safety office have resigned because of
differences with management; they couldn’t work for the Chinese, they
couldn’t compromise themselves like they were having to. 158
The same miner noted that on December 31, 2010, the mine suffered a fatality when a side
wall peeled off underground and crushed a miner. He felt that the accident could have
been avoided had safety officers controlled adherence to safety regulations underground,
without interference from management. 159
CNMC’s letter to Human Rights Watch states that “it is impossible to say” that safety
conditions have worsened since it took over China Luanshya Mine in 2009, as “safety
management measures are essentially a continuation of previous systems.” 160 Miners
interviewed by Human Rights Watch agreed that the structural safety mechanisms were
essentially maintained, but, as noted above, described far greater pressures to place
production over strict adherence to these mechanisms. CNMC’s letter also highlighted a
number of investments that have improved the technology and mechanization of the
mine. 161 As noted in the Good Investors, Bad Employers text box, the capital investment at
157 Human Rights Watch interview with blast engineer A at CLM, Luanshya, November 10, 2010.
158 Human Rights Watch interview with surface and underground electrician for high-voltage areas at CLM, Luanshya, July 17,
2011.
159 Ibid.
160 Letter from CNMC to Human Rights Watch, October 8, 2011.
161 Ibid.
53 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | NOVEMBER 2011