Article 41 No production or business units may contract out or lease production or business projects, work places or equipment to any units or individuals that do not possess the conditions for work safety or the necessary qualifications.

Where there are more than one contractor or leasee involved in one production or business project or place, the production or business unit shall sign a special agreement on work safety control with each of the contractors or leasees or have the responsibilities of each party for work safety control specified in the contract. The production or business unit shall conduct overall coordination and management among the contractors or leasees in respect of work safety.

Article 42 When a major accident due to neglect of work safety occurs in a production or business unit, the principal leading member of the unit shall immediately make arrangements for rescue operation; and, during the period of investigation and handling of the accident, he may not leave his post without permission.

Article 43 Production and business units shall, in accordance with law, purchase social insurance for industrial injuries and pay insurance premiums for their employees.

Chapter III Rights and Duties of Employees

Article 44 In the labour contracts signed between production and business units and their employees shall be clearly indicated the items concerning guarantees for occupational safety of the employees, prevention of occupational hazards, as well as the item concerning payment, according to law, of insurance premiums for industrial injuries suffered by employees.

No production or business units may, in any form, conclude agreements with their employees in an attempt to relieve themselves of, or lighten, the responsibilities they should bear in accordance with law for the employees who are injured or killed in accidents which occur due to lack of work safety.

Article 45 Employees of production and business units shall have the right to the knowledge of the dangerous factors existing at their work places and posts, and of the precaution and exigency measures, and they shall have the right to put forward suggestions on work safety of the units where they work.

Article 46 Employees shall have the right to criticize, inform against and accuse their work units for the problems existing in work safety. They shall have the right to refuse to comply with the directions that are contrary to rules and regulations or arbitrary orders for risky operations.

No production and business units may reduce the wages or welfare standards of, or cancel the labour contracts concluded with, the employees because the latter criticize, inform against, accuse or refuse to comply with the directions that are contrary to rules and regulations or arbitrary orders for risky operations.

Article 47 On spotting emergency situations that directly threaten their personal safety, the employees shall have the right to suspend operation or evacuate from the work place after taking possible emergency measures.

No production and business units may reduce the wages, welfare standards of, or cancel the labour contracts concluded with, the employees because the latter, under the emergency situations, mentioned in the preceding paragraph, suspend operation and evacuate from the work place as an emergency measure.

Article 48 Employees who are harmed in accidents due to lack of work safety and who still have the right to compensation according to relevant civil laws shall, in addition to enjoying the social insurance for industrial injuries in accordance with law, have the right to demand compensations from the units where they work.

Article 49 In the course of operation, employees shall strictly abide by work safety rules and regulations and operation instructions of the units where they work, subject themselves to supervision, wear and use the gears for occupational protection in a correct way.

Article 50 Employees shall receive education and training in work safety to master work safety knowledge needed for the jobs they are doing, improve their skills related to work safety and increase their ability to prevent accidents and handle emergencies.

Article 51 On spotting hidden dangers that may lead to accidents or other factors that may jeopardize safety, employees shall immediately report the matter to the persons in charge of work safety on the spot or leading members of their units. Persons who receive such report shall act to handle the matter without delay.

Article 52 Trade unions shall have the right to exercise supervision over and put forward comments and suggestions on the simultaneous design, construction and commissioning of the safety facilities and the main structure of a construction project.

Trade unions shall have the right to demand that production and business units set to right their violations of laws and regulations on work safety and their infringement of the lawful rights and interests of the employees. When discovering that production and business units issue directions contrary to rules and regulations, or arbitrary orders for risky operations, or hidden dangers that may lead to accidents, they shall have the right to put forward suggestions for solution, and the production and business units shall consider the suggestions and respond in a timely manner. When discovering situations in which the safety of the employees’ lives are threatened, they shall have the right to put forward suggestions to the production and business units for organized evacuation of the employees from the endangered work place, and the production and business units shall deal with such situations immediately.

Trade unions shall have the right to take part in investigations of accidents in accordance with law; put forward their suggestions to the departments concerned for the handling of the accidents and demand that the persons concerned be investigated for their responsibilities.

Chapter IV Supervision and Control over Work Safety

Article 53 Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in light of the conditions of work safety in their administrative regions, make arrangements for the departments concerned, in keeping with the division of responsibilities, to carry out strict inspections in the production and business units located in their administrative regions in which major accidents due to lack of work safety are liable to occur. When discovering hidden dangers that may lead to accidents, the departments shall deal with the matter without delay.

Article 54 Where the departments charged with the responsibilities to exercise supervision and control over work safety (hereinafter all referred to as departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety), as specified in the provisions of Article 9 of this Law, need to examine before giving approval (including approval, ratification, permission, registration, authentication and issue of certificates or licenses, the same as below) or check for acceptance matters related to work safety in accordance with relevant laws and regulations, they shall conduct the examination or check strictly in accordance with relevant laws and regulations and national standards or industrial specifications. They may not give approval or authorize acceptance to matters which do not meet the work safety conditions specified in relevant laws and regulations and national standards or industrial specifications. With regard to units that engage in relevant activities without obtaining approval or without being qualified for acceptance in accordance with law, the departments in charge of administrative examination and approval, on discovering or receiving reports on such cases, shall immediately outlaw them and dealt with them in accordance with law. Where departments in charge of administrative examination and approval find that units which have obtained approval in accordance with law no longer possess the conditions for work safety, they shall cancel the approval given.

Article 55 No departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety may charge any fees for examining, checking and accepting matters related to work safety, or require that units subject to their examination, check and acceptance purchase the brands of products designated by them or the work safety equipment, devices or other products manufactured or marketed by units designated by them.

Article 56 When departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety conduct, in accordance with law, supervision over and inspection of production and business units to see how the latter implement the laws and regulations related to work safety, national standards or industrial specifications, they shall exercise the following functions and powers:

(1) entering production and business units for inspection, acquiring relevant materials and data for investigation, and getting information from the departments and persons concerned;

(2) putting into rights on the spot or demanding rectification of, within a time limit, violations of law related to work safety, which are discovered in the course of inspection; and with regard to practices deserving administrative penalties according to law, making decisions to impose such penalties in accordance with the provisions in this Law, other laws and administrative regulations;

(3) when, in the course of inspection, hidden dangers that may lead to accidents, to eliminate them immediately; when it is impossible to ensure safety before major ones are eliminated or, in the course of their elimination; giving orders to evacuate workers from the danger areas and to suspend production, business operation or application, and when major dangers are eliminated, allowing resumption of production, business operation or application upon examination and approval; and

(4) sealing up or seizing facilities, equipment and devices that are deemed, on firm grounds, not up to the national standards or industrial specifications to ensure work safety, and, in accordance with law, making a decision within fifteen days to deal with the case.

No supervision or inspection may hinder the normal production and business activities of the units undergoing inspection.

Article 57 Production and business units shall cooperate with the supervision and inspectors of the departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety (hereinafter referred to as work safety supervisors and inspectors) who are performing their duties in accordance with law. They may not refuse to do so or create obstacles.

Article 58 Work safety supervisors and inspectors shall be devoted to their duties, uphold principles and enforce laws impartially.

When performing their tasks, work safety supervisors and inspectors shall produce their effective identification documents for supervision and law enforcement. They shall keep confidential the technical and business secretes of the units under inspection.

Article 59 Work safety supervisors and inspectors shall keep a written record of the inspection, including the time, place, items and the problems discovered and their solution, which shall be signed by the inspectors and the leading members of the unit under inspection. Where leading members of a unit under inspection refuse to sign, the inspectors shall make a record of the fact and report the matter to the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety.

Article 60 Departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall cooperate with each other in supervision and inspection by conducting joint inspection. Where it is really necessary to conduct separate inspections, they shall exchange information. Where safety problems discovered require handling by another department concerned, the case shall, without delay, be transferred to the said department, and a record of the fact shall be kept for reference. The department receiving the case shall handle it in a timely manner.

Article 61 The supervisory authority shall, in accordance with the provisions in the Administrative Supervision Law, conduct supervision over the performance of their duties by departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety and their personnel.

Article 62 Organizations in charge of assessment, authentication, testing and inspection in respect of safety shall possess the qualifications specified by the State, and they shall be responsible for the results of the safety-related assessment, authentication, testing and inspection performed.

Article 63 Departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety shall set up a complaint system, with the complaint telephone numbers, mail box numbers or e-mail addresses known to the public, to facilitate receipt of complaints related to work safety. After the complaints accepted are verified, written records shall be kept. Where rectification need to be taken, the measures shall be submitted to the leading member concerned for signature, and the department concerned shall see that the measures are taken.

Article 64 All units and individuals shall have the right to report or complain about hidden dangers that may lead to accidents and practices violating work safety laws to the departments in charge of supervision and control over work safety.

Article 65 When neighbourhood committees or villagers’ committees discover hidden dangers that may lead to accidents or practices violating work safety laws in production and business units located in their areas, they shall report the matter to the local people’s governments or the departments concerned.

Article 66 People’s governments at or above the county level and the relevant departments under them shall give awards to people who have done meritorious services in reporting hidden dangers that may lead to major accidents or complaining about practices violating work safety laws. Specific measures for giving such awards shall be formulated by the department in charge of supervision and control over work safety under the State Council in conjunction with the finance department under the State Council.

Article 67 News media, publishers, broadcasting agencies, film studios and television broadcasting agencies shall have the duty to disseminate knowledge about work safety and the right to conduct supervision by means of public opinion over violations of work safety laws and regulations.

Chapter V Accident Rescue, Investigation and Handling

Article 68 Local people’s governments at or above the county level shall make arrangements for the departments concerned to formulate accident rescue plans for exceptionally serious accidents due to lack of work safety that may occur in their administrative regions and set up an emergency rescue system accordingly.

Article 69 Units that manufacture, market or store dangerous articles, mines and construction units shall set up their respective emergency rescue organizations. Units engaged in small-scale production or business operation that may be exempted from such organizations shall assign part-time persons to emergency rescue tasks.

Units that manufacture, market or store dangerous articles, mines and construction units shall have at hand the necessary devices and equipment for emergency rescue and have them maintained and serviced constantly to ensure their normal operation.

Article 70 When an accident due to lack of work safety occurs in a production or business unit, the persons at the scene shall immediately report the accident to the leading members of this unit.

On receiving such report, leading members of the unit shall take prompt, effective measures to arrange rescue operation, prevent the accident from spreading and minimize the injuries and deaths and loss of property, and they shall, in accordance with relevant State regulations, immediately report the facts of the accident to the local department in charge of supervision and control over work safety. They may not conceal the accident, make false report or delay the report, or deliberately damage the scene of the accident or destroy relevant evidence.