China happens to be blessed with endless amount of minerals. The most prominently used mineral of all happens to be coal which is heavily used by the state. As per records, China is excavating the largest amount of coal in the world and also consumes twenty four percent of the total coal excavated yearly. With time, China has overtaken America and rose to number one when it comes to coal production, and falls shortly behind US in its consumption. Every year China establishes a number of new coal based power plants.
Even though coal is a highly effective source of electricity generation, the Chinese government is trying to reorient to newer and cleaner power generation technologies. With pollution being a top concern of Chinese citizens in major cities on the Chinese East coast, continued development cannot rely on the heavily polluting coal to the same extent as in the past.
The government has plans to regulate mining strategies and adopt legal measures. The new laws will give greater protection to the public and increase the rights and safety of miners. The new law dictates that and enterprise must provide safe working conditions. The new Chinese law also allows labor unions to be formed who negotiate with enterprises for rights of the miners. These labor unions will also monitor working conditions for the miners and will have the authority to report breaches of the law to state regulators.
The Law of China on Safety in Mines includes articles that mainly emphasize miner safety. It discusses the safety measures to be adopted by every mining company. The state has published guidelines for compliance. The guidelines outline the supervision, control and checks to be performed in the mining process to ensure safety, and outlines liabilities for the mining company if it violates safety standards.
Goals of the new law are to increase job satisfaction and safety for employees in addition to increase regulatory standards on an industry which is often subject to headlines topping accidents. Formation of labor unions and their role in implementing these laws is central to China’s primary concern with ensuring employment for its large population.