Fines of up to 5m yuan for mine bosses who refuse to work in pits

The central government has given coal mine bosses an ultimatum: either risk your lives by entering the pits with your workers every day, or face dismissal or fines of up to five million yuan (HK$5.7 million).

A State Council edict two months ago that ordered coal mine managers down the pits was never effectively implemented, and the central government has now warned it will hand out punishments ranging from verbal warnings to dismissal if mine owners flout the regulation, as well as fines of 150,000 yuan. It said on Thursday that the fines would be increased to up to five million yuan if managers were not in mines when major accidents happened.

Compensation payments to the families of miners who die in mine accidents will also be increased to 20 times a city dweller's average annual income from next year.

Premier Wen Jiabao told a State Council meeting in July that he hoped mine safety could be improved by forcing managers to share the same risks as miners, and that mine bosses should take charge of work in the pits by descending into shafts with their workers.

However, very few mine bosses actually follow the regulation.

Lu Rizhou, a former political adviser from Shanxi province, which sees the country's highest number of casualties from mine accidents, said he saw a county party secretary cry when forced to enter a mine.