Did you say “Occupational Safety”?
August 16, 2009 by Chinatex
Y’all might have read about the town in Hunan province where it was recently discovered that at least one factory had been polluting the ground, water and air so badly that people were actually dying as a direct result of the pollution. As China continues to develop and evolve there will undoubtedly be more of these stories – similar to our Love Canal in New York state in the 1970’s where 21,000 tons of toxic chemical waste was buried. Anyway, it seems that this recent event in Hunan province has given the government good reason to look at and implement some new measures on occupational hazards and safety. While this is probably good, nobody knows what the law means or how far the government or local governments will go to enforce the law. Please notice that in the the article below it doesn’t just mention “polluting factories” but also “businesses”. Remember with the labor law how Old Chinatex told you that the ambiguity in the law was one of the ways that the burgeoning legal trade here in China was going to find sources of revenue. Looks like this new regulation will be a bonanza for disgruntled employees, competitors and hungry lawyers. Yee ha!! Chinatex
Companies now required to monitor workplace hazards
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-14 09:33
Beginning next month, Chinese businesses and factories that violate occupational hazard regulations will be shut down and face a maximum penalty of 300,000 yuan ($44,000).
“If an employee’s health has been affected by dust, toxic substances and other harmful factors during occupational activities, those harms can be defined as occupational hazards,” according to a temporary provision released recently by China’s work safety watchdog.
The provisions were formulated by the State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS). SAWS is in charge of monitoring and inspecting work safety practices, halting work hazards, issuing licenses, investigating accidents and stopping illegal work practices.
Businesses and factories should faithfully inform employees about possible occupational hazards and their consequences, and provide occupational hazards prevention knowledge training. Also, employers are required to give their workers necessary health checkups. They also should buy protective gear for employees working around hazards and ensure that equipment remains safe and in good repair.
Businesses that violate the provision will receive a warning from SAWS, ordering them to correct the practice within a time limit. Enterprises that do not correct the problem within the time limit will be fined 20,000 yuan.
Businesses that seriously violate a relevant law, regulation, or industry standard, causing grave damage to employees’ life and health, will be closed and required to pay a fine of between 100,000 and 300,000 yuan.
Moreover, companies are obliged to report any occupational hazards in construction projects to their local work safety department. They also must periodically monitor work safety procedures and make reports to the department. Occupational hazards should be monitored at least once a year, and be evaluated at least once every three years.
Chinese Court et al.
August 13, 2009 by Chinatex
It’s been a slow and steamy summer here in the Pearl River Delta. Anytime I think of Delta’s: Mississippi, Me Kong, Delta Dawn, I think of humidity and other things. It’s been all of those here recently but it hasn’t slowed down the pace of business or life in Southern China. On a non legal note, it doesn’t seem like the world is in a recession when you walk around here. People are moving and spending money and buying stuff like crazy.
Onto a legal hodgepodge from the Delta:
1. Stay away from Court in China (or anywhere else for that matter).
Old Chinatex had an opportunity to attend a hearing in the Shenzhen Peoples Court the other day and it was once again an interesting experience. As I always tell y’all “stay out of court at all costs”. Even in China, the only ones who win in court are the lawyers – who conveniently get their fees paid up front. Anyway, I was observing a hearing between a Chinese national and a foreigner and although the result seemed to come out fairly, it didn’t seem to be based upon law, precedent, logic or much else. I also don’t think the foreigner thought it came out fairly. The judge was basically a mediator and he listened to both sides of the story, then he met with both sides separately and after a few hours in a hot and steamy court room, he issued his order. My advice to y’all is to make sure that you have everything in order so that you don’t need to go to court. How many times do I have to hear about the foreigner who trusted his Chinese factory or partner and then ended up with an expensive lesson. Have agreements and do things legally and you will undoubtedly avoid court.
2. The taxman striketh again.
I’ve been telling y’all how our governments are all broke and printing money and that the only way to even attempt at lowering the deficits is to get back lost tax revenues from citizens and corporations operating offshore. You can see my previous blawgs for more information. Well, seems that the UK government just reached an agreement with Liechtenstein to end banking secrecy which will undoubtedly churn out substantial tax bills to UK citizens who have been legally keeping their money in Liechtenstein banks. While many of these are “super” wealthy people, for those of you who are “kinda” wealthy and want to be more wealthy, there are alternative and legal tax havens here in the PRD that you can take advantage of. Here is an excerpt of the article on the UK – Liechtenstein agreement, pay attention to the last line:
The UK is expected to sign a deal to recover lost tax from Britons holding bank accounts in Liechtenstein.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has agreed with the Alpine tax haven to start exchanging information. Up to 5,000 British investors have an estimated £3bn stashed away in secret accounts in the country.
Investors are expected to be offered the chance to volunteer details of their deposits in return for limited penalties and low risk of prosecution. More details of the deal with Liechtenstein’s royal family and its government will be announced later on Tuesday.
Pressure has mounted on tax havens to share information since April’s G20 Summit and similar deals have already been struck with the US and Germany. The small principality between Switzerland and Austria is renowned for the secrecy that shrouds the financial affairs of rich investors.
It was once considered to be among the most secretive jurisdictions in the world. Governments are particularly keen to trace and recover unpaid revenues as tax receipts fall in the global recession.
Well, that’s all for now. As always yeeha! Chinatex.
