China has introduced a new regulation to standardize reporting and investigation of workplace accidents and track down those responsible.
Companies liable for major accidents will face fines of up to 5 million yuan (US$641,000) and managers will have their pay docked under the new regulation.
The Regulation on Reporting and Investigating Production Accidents, released by the State Council on Friday, will come into effect on June 1.
Personnel at an accident scene are required to report it to management immediately. Managers must report the accident to county-level work safety authorities within an hour.
The regulation classifies accidents into four grades. The most severe is defined as causing 30 deaths or more, or 100 severe injuries (including acute poisoning), or direct economic losses of 100 million yuan (US$128,000) or above.
Companies such as mines, construction firms or chemical or explosive producers will receive a fine of two to five million yuan (US$256,000 to US$641,000) if they are found responsible for an accident.
Managers of those firms will have their yearly salaries cut by 80 percent.
If they are found to have committed a crime, they will be deemed criminally responsible.
Anyone trying to shirk their responsibilities will face severe punishment under the regulation.
A company will be fined one to five million yuan (US$128,000 to US$641,000) if it commits any of the following:
- Lying about or covering up an accident
- Faking or tampering with an accident scene
- Shifting or concealing capital and possessions after an accident, or destroying evidence
- Refusing to accept an investigation or refusing to provide information or materials to investigators
- Giving false testimony or inciting others to do so during an investigation
- Fleeing or hiding after an accident
The regulation also stipulates that the company's senior staff directly liable for an accident will have a minimum of 60 percent deducted from their annual salary.
Thirty-two workers were killed and six injured on Wednesday when a piece of heavy equipment at a steel plant in Tieling in northeast China's Liaoning Province broke off while molten steel was being transported.
(China Daily April 21, 2007)
