The average salary for senior executives at China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) has risen to around 600,000 yuan a year, according to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission. Executive salaries have nearly doubled over the last five years, and now stand at about 20 times the average SOE employee’s salary of 31,500 yuan a year.

As the Chinese economy recovers, an influential magazine calls on the government and trade unions to take concerted measures to alleviate the growing conflict between workers and management. Photo. Onekel

Nearly a quarter of the workforce at a state-owned tobacco plant in Henan have had their wages slashed and their employment contracts “spun off” to an employment agency as part of the enterprise’s restructuring program.

Hotel employee, Zhu Peifang was summarily dismissed after 24 years of service, with no compensation, no year-end bonus and no wages for her work the previous month. With the help of CLB, Zhu was reinstated and paid six month’s wages in arrears.

Hailed as an unprecedented move to shed its reputation as the country's "blood-stained coal basket", Shanxi's latest coal industry reform will see the closure of more than 1,500 small coal mines, the disappearance of more than 95 per cent of its coal enterprises, and the loss of at least 140 billion yuan (HK$159 billion) of private investment, state media confirmed yesterday.

The bosses of a state-owned coal mine in the northeastern Chinese province of Heilongjiang were to blame for a recent underground gas explosion in which more than 100 people died, an initial investigation has revealed.

The huge Chinese coal mine blast that left 104 people dead has reignited concerns over the heavy human cost of the nation's voracious coal demand, with accidents still common despite a safety push.

Grieving relatives scuffled with police today as the death toll from China's worst mining disaster for almost two years rose to 104. Authorities said they feared another four workers who were trapped underground after a huge gas explosion at the mine on Saturday were already dead.

China Labour Bulletin extends its utmost sympathy and heartfelt condolences to the families of the more than one hundred miners who lost their lives in the Hegang tragedy early on the morning of 21 November 2009.

CLB director Han Dongfang argues that moves by the authorities in Shanxi to close and merge small privately-run mines with larger state-run mines will only improve coal mine safety if miners are allowed to play a key role in safety management. Photograph by andi808.