“\"Safe stocks\" – that’s a good approach

Thread Content

Recently, the Yongchuan Coal Mine of Chongqing Energy Group’s Yongrong Mining Company decided to issue \"safety shares\" to its employees. Apart from the mine’s management and administrative staff, all employees can become \"safety shareholders\" by purchasing these shares, thereby sharing in the benefits associated with safety as well as bearing the risks related to it. It is reported that the mine’s \"safety shares\" are issued based on the principles of voluntary investment, shared risks, and shared benefits. Employees who meet the requirements to purchase these shares are allocated shares by the company: 2 shares per underground worker and 1 share per surface worker, with each share costing 100 yuan. “\"Safe stocks\" are subject to a real-name system and cannot be bought, sold, or transferred to others. The company injects 100,000 yuan, 200,000 yuan, 300,000 yuan, and 400,000 yuan into the shareholder pool over four quarters respectively, as dividends for the \"shareholders\". Yongchuan Coal Mine will conduct assessments of safety production on a monthly basis, and distribute dividends on a quarterly cumulative basis. The condition for enjoying the \"stock dividend\" is that no accidents of level 1 or above occur in the entire mine within a quarter, and the individual itself commits no violations nor suffers any injuries. Furthermore, if the entire mine achieves a zero minor injury target within the quarter, employees can receive an additional 2 shares as a reward ； If the company achieves a zero minor injury target within the quarter, all members will receive an additional share as a reward ； If no accidents of level 2 or above, nor any non-accident incidents, occur throughout the mine within one year, an additional 2 shares will be awarded to each person. In the event of an accident resulting in injuries of grade 1 or higher, as well as non-injury accidents, all shareholders belonging to the responsible company unit will have their shares confiscated. Additionally, any capital injections made during that quarter and the dividends allocated for that quarter will be revoked. The responsible company unit must repurchase \"safety shares\" in the month following the accident… He Jiahong, the leader of the mine’s second coal mining team, calculated that if there are no violations or injuries throughout the year, his \"safety bonus\" could exceed 1,000 yuan, with a return on safety investments of around 500%. To regulate the management of \"safety shares,\" the mine established a council and a supervisory board for these shares, with the Safety Inspection Department responsible for announcing the total amount, number of shares, value of each share, as well as the details of employees’ individual accounts. “For enterprises to ensure safe production, in addition to management taking charge of safety management, the active participation of all employees is also essential. ”Zou Xiaoming, the mine manager, told reporters that implementing the \"safety stock\" system for employees means allowing them to share both the safety risks and the benefits associated with safety with the enterprise, thereby creating a \"community of shared interests\" between each employee and the company. This approach encourages employees to shift from a passive attitude toward ensuring safety to an active one. The decision to issue “safe stocks” immediately caused a strong reaction among the employees. According to the survey, nearly 80% of the workers at this mine are in favor of \"safety stocks.\" They believe that although investing in coal mine safety involves certain risks, safety accidents can be prevented and controlled. Many employees said they are confident in ensuring safe production and realizing the \"safety dividend.\" 20% of the employees are somewhat worried: \"If there is a lapse at some stage that leads to an accident, the interests of the employees will be harmed.\" ”“I believe that by improving safety management levels, employees can reap a ‘safety dividend’ in the ‘safe bull market’ they have created. By then, their worries will naturally disappear. ”Zhu Dahuai, the union leader of the mine, told reporters.