More than 20 female workers were detained after police attempted to break up a two-week-long strike at a former state-owned cotton mill in Pingdingshan, Henan. The workers, eight of whom were listed by name, were accused of “disrupting production” (扰乱生产), according to reports circulating on the Chinese internet. Up to 3,000 police officers moved in to clear the factory gate on 1 June, which had been blocked by striking workers since 14 May. Some of the 5,000 workers have reportedly returned to work but the majority remains on strike.

The number of coal mine deaths in China has risen for the first time since 2002. There were 592 fatalities related to coal mine accidents in the first three months of this year, compared with 509 in the first quarter last year, the China Daily reported today. The sharp rise in the number of fatalities can be partly explained by the low demand for coal at the height of the global economic crisis early last year, but also because of the widespread renovation and construction of new mines to meet higher demand this year. According to official figures, as of 1 March, there were 7,939 mines under construction or renovation.

In a frank and honest assessment of China’s coal mine safety record, a senior government official has admitted that enforcement of safety laws, investment in coal mine safety and worker training are all woefully inadequate. The number of accidents and fatalities has steadily declined over the last five years but China’s mines remain the world’s deadliest. If it is to reduce accidents further, the country needs to address its production-driven development model as well as fundamental safety issues, said Huang Yi, spokesman for the State Administration of Work Safety.

The “chief suspect” in the beating to death last year of Chen Guojun, a senior manager at the Tonghua Iron and Steel Works in Jilin, was on 15 April found guilty intentional wounding (故意伤害罪) and sentenced to life in prison by the Tonghua Municipal Intermediate Court.

One week after the “miracle rescue” of 115 miners from a flooded coal mine in Shanxi, the death toll at the Wangjailing Mine has risen to 35, with three miners still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, the official Chinese media has suppressed the story that only last week dominated the headlines, and local government leaders are scrambling to placate and control grieving relatives and prevent any public protests.

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.