The non-state sector in China is responsible for 65 percent of
the country's industrial and mining accidents and 66 percent of the
fatalities last year, the national safety watchdog said
Saturday.
Wang Xianzheng, director of the State Administration of Work
Safety, said that work safety problems in non-public enterprises
have become a major issue though they have made great contribution
to the rapid growth of the national economy.
Statistics show that 70 percent of serious accidents since 2001
took place in small non-state enterprises. In 2003, the number of
accidents and of fatalities in non-public industrial and mining
enterprises rose by 23 percent and 21 percent respectively from the
previous year.
An earlier report indicated that tragedies in these caused
17,315 deaths last year, up 16 percent on a yearly basis.
Wang, who addressed a national conference on safety work of
non-state enterprises, said low production level and poor
management and training of employees are the major causes of the
accidents.
The administration has closed a large number of small mines or
plants that either operated without license or failed to meet
safety standards, established a license system for production
safety, and formulated a series of policies on compulsory expense
in production safety and increase in compensation for industrial
casualties and risk mortgage.
(Xinhua News Agency April 11, 2004)