Lawmakers call for tighter work safety rules
Print Edition
China’s senior lawmakers stressed the need to tighten workplace safety supervision and punishments for offenders when discussing a draft law amendment yesterday.
Members of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress (NPC) held panel discussions about the draft amendment to the workplace safety law, which was tabled for the first reading at the committee’s bi-monthly session.
Lawmakers called for a clear definition and division of liabilities in workplace safety.
The bill holds that the employer bears the first and most important responsibility to protect workplace safety, which is good, but it should also clarify the roles of the government regulator, trade organizations and individuals, said Liu Binjie, an NPC Standing Committee member.
Without a clear definition, it is hard to decide who is responsible for a workplace accident, he said.
Yan Junqi, another NPC Standing Committee member, argued that the law should consider arrangements to make sure every party related to workplace safety, the employer, government, trade union and trade organization, not only exercise their own duty but also supervise one another.
She also suggested that the law compel the regulator to publish information about employers’ previous offences.
This is the first attempt to revise the law since it was introduced in 2002.
Yang Dongliang, director of the State Administration of Work Safety, told lawmakers at the session on Tuesday that the revision is needed since the country has a high incidence of workplace accidents.
The administration last year investigated 44 serious workplace accidents and some 300 people were prosecuted.
One of the most shocking accidents was a pipeline explosion in Qingdao in the eastern province of Shandong in November that claimed 62 lives. In total, 63 people have been punished, including 15 being prosecuted.
The bill also increases fines for several types of malpractice.
Some lawmakers argued that the law should also resort to criminal prosecution.
“Criminal penalties, administrative punishment and fines are effective means to deter and punish offenders,” said NPC Standing Committee member Mo Wenxiu. “They should all be given full play,” she added.
Liu Binjie called for improving workplace safety awareness.
“Human life tops everything but this perception is not deeply rooted in society. We should work to promote it,” he said.
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