Fines for especially serious accidents can reach up to 100 million yuan

Thread Content

2021-06-11 13:09:58 Source: Legal Daily Author: Cai Yanhong. On June 10, the **National People’s Congress voted to pass the \"Decision on Amending the Work Safety Law of the People’s Republic of China\". On June 11, a responsible official from the Ministry of Emergency Management stated at a press conference held by the State Council Information Office that the newly revised Work Safety Law imposes stricter penalties for illegal activities, with fines for especially serious accidents reaching up to 100 million yuan. The mortality rate from production safety accidents has dropped by 80% over the past two decades. Song Yuanming, deputy head of the Ministry of Emergency Management, reviewed the achievements since the implementation of the Work Safety Law. The current Work Safety Law was enacted in 2002, and was amended twice in 2009 and 2014; this year marks the third amendment. This law has played an important role in preventing and reducing work safety accidents. The peak number of deaths due to work safety accidents in our country was in 2002, with around 140,000 deaths that year; this figure has now dropped to 27,100 last year, a reduction of 80.6%. The peak number of serious and major accidents occurred in 2001, with 140 such accidents that year, while last year there were only 16 accidents, representing a reduction of 88.6%. Song, Yuan, and Ming believe that the traditional risks that have accumulated over time have not yet been completely eliminated; some of them are still emerging prominently, while new risks keep arising. Although there is an overall downward trend in production safety accidents across the country, it has now entered a bottleneck phase or a plateau period. A slight carelessness could lead to a resurgence in severe accidents. At the same time, the new stage of development, the new development concepts, and the new development pattern place higher demands on work related to safety production; therefore, safety production efforts are still in a phase of progress and overcoming challenges. It is timely and highly necessary to amend the Work Safety Law. Song Yuanming explained that the revised provisions consist of 42 articles in total, accounting for about one-third of the original articles, and mainly cover the following aspects: implementing new ideas and concepts. It adds provisions such as adhering to the principle that putting the people and life first in work related to safe production, establishing a concept of safe development, and preventing and mitigating major safety risks at their source, thereby providing a strong legal foundation for balancing development and safety. Implement the central government’s decisions and arrangements. It adds important provisions such as reports on the identification and resolution of major accident hazards, the mandatory requirement for safety production liability insurance in high-risk industries, and public interest lawsuits related to safety production. Improve the safety production responsibility system. It strengthens the leadership responsibilities of Party committees and **, emphasizing that safety production work must be under the leadership of the Party. It requires people’s ** at all levels to enhance the construction of infrastructure for safety production as well as their capacity for supervision in this area, with the necessary funds to be included in their respective budgets. It clarifies the supervision responsibilities of various relevant departments, stipulating that those in charge of a particular industry or business must also be responsible for ensuring safety, and that those responsible for production and operations must likewise take safety into account. It also outlines the supervision responsibilities regarding safety production in emerging industries and fields. The primary responsibilities of production and operation units are emphasized, with it being specified that their top managers are the main persons accountable for safety production within those units. In addition, it requires all such units to implement a safety responsibility system for all employees, as well as a dual-prevention mechanism based on risk assessment and hazard identification and management, in order to improve safety production standards and raise overall safety levels. Strengthen the prevention and response to new issues and risks. Drawing profound lessons from accidents in recent years, specific provisions have been made to address the new issues identified in work safety accidents. For example, businesses in the food service industry that use gas for operations are required to install combustible gas alarm devices and ensure their proper functioning; construction firms in high-risk industries such as mining are required to strengthen safety management, not to transfer their construction qualifications illegally, and not to engage in illegal subcontracting or subletting; agencies that conduct safety assessments are required to implement a system for making their reports public, and must not lend out their qualifications, operate under false pretenses, or issue fraudulent reports. At the same time, regarding the new risks arising from new business forms and models, it is emphasized that safety responsibility systems should be established and implemented, staff education and training should be strengthened, and statutory obligations related to safe production must be fulfilled. Increase the penalties for illegal acts. First, the fines are higher. Currently, the fines for particularly serious accidents can reach up to 100 million yuan. Second, the penalties are stricter; once any illegal activity is detected, orders are given to make corrections and fines are imposed. Those who refuse to make such corrections are ordered to suspend operations for rectification, with fines that can be calculated on a daily basis. Third, the penalties are more severe. Joint disciplinary actions shall be taken; in the most severe cases, such measures as a ban on working in the relevant industry or profession shall be imposed. Through “keeping the sword poised”, illegal enterprises are effectively punished and deterred, thereby safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of law-abiding enterprises. “This revision of the Work Safety Law has significantly increased the penalties for illegal acts, with the aim of exerting a strong deterrent effect on such violations, so that production and business entities do not dare to or are unable to commit illegal acts, thereby eliminating potential hazards and resolving related issues at their root. ”Song Yuanming said that illegal acts in safety production can also cause significant damage to the business environment. When a few companies take risks and act in violation of laws and regulations, using unfair methods to seek profits, it inevitably undermines the legitimate rights and interests of other law-abiding businesses, thereby destroying a market environment that is fair, just, and based on honesty and integrity. Therefore, imposing stricter penalties on illegal acts is also a way of protecting legitimate and trustworthy market entities. Multiple systems reinforce the primary responsibility for work safety. The newly revised Work Safety Law establishes several important legal mechanisms to strengthen the primary responsibility of production and business entities for work safety. In this regard, Liu Wei, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Emergency Management, provided further explanations regarding the comprehensive safety responsibility system for all employees in production and business entities. Every department, every position, and every employee in a production and operation unit affects work safety directly or indirectly to varying degrees. Everyone plays a key role in work safety; there are no bystanders. This revision introduces provisions regarding a safety responsibility system for all employees, aiming to mobilize the enthusiasm and creativity of every member of the production and operation units. This will create an environment in which everyone is concerned about safe production, everyone strives to improve their safety skills, and everyone contributes to ensuring safe production, thereby raising the overall level of safety in such operations. A dual-prevention mechanism for risk classification, control, hazard identification, and rectification. Establishing a mechanism for hierarchical control of safety risks requires production and operation units to regularly carry out risk identification and assessment, and to strictly implement hierarchical control measures in order to prevent accidents resulting from the escalation of such risks. The identification and rectification of potential hazards is an important system established by the Work Safety Law. This amendment adds a provision requiring that information on the identification and rectification of major hazard risks be reported to the relevant authorities in a timely manner, with the aim of ensuring that production and business units carry out proper identification and rectification of such hazards under the dual supervision of regulatory authorities and their own employees. The system of compulsory safety production liability insurance is implemented in high-risk industries. The Work Safety Law before the amendment stipulated that **production and business entities were encouraged to purchase work safety liability insurance; this amendment adds a requirement that such entities in high-risk industries must obtain such insurance. According to the **Opinions of the Central Committee and the State Council on Promoting Reform and Development in the Field of Work Safety**, high-risk industries mainly include eight categories: mining, hazardous chemicals, fireworks and firecrackers, transportation, construction, civil **products**, metal smelting, and fishery production. The coverage of safety production liability insurance includes not only the employees of the company itself, but also any injuries or deaths of third parties as well as property damage, in addition to costs related to rescue operations, accident investigations, and legal proceedings. “Most importantly, safety production liability insurance has the function of accident prevention; insurance companies must provide accident-prevention services to the insured entities, helping them identify potential risks and improve their safety management levels. ” Liu Wei said. Song Yuanming said that in the next step, the Ministry of Emergency Management will carry out in-depth efforts to promote and implement the Work Safety Law to ensure its smooth implementation. Law enforcement officers from emergency management departments at all levels and those responsible for safety supervision must enforce the law strictly, accurately, and in a standardized manner. Through concrete actions, they should ensure that the revised Work Safety Law remains effective, thereby better meeting the public’s desire for safety and helping to instill the principles of \"putting the people first and life first\" both in people’s minds and in their actions.