How 35 workplace deaths were exposed in an internet chat room
April 16th, 2009Fair labor practices, Public safety 16 CommentsI have a question for you.
How and when do you think the world might have found out about a massive explosion which killed thirty-five workers at an illegal Chinese mine on July 14 last year?
Immediate reports from grief-stricken relatives? No. The mine owner acted very swiftly to purchase their silence.
Local officials? Not likely. They issued a false report after pretending to investigate.
Journalists? Nope – bribed also.
The mine owner? Naturally, no.
So how and when did the world find out? Two months later via some brave soul in an internet chat room, according to a report in the International Herald Tribune.
As a result of this brave soul, twenty-five local officials were fired, twenty-two of them now under criminal investigation.
The debacle described above highlights two important points:
• continuing problems in China with respect to accountability; and
• the constructive role which online media can play in terms of whistle-blowing.
China’s never-ending accountability problems
The fact that an incident like this was exposed only through an internet chat room shows just how diabolical the situation really is with respect to accountability and worker safety in Chinese coal mines.
Even at the official rate, according to the article, the average death toll rate for Chinese coal miners stands at nine per day – a staggering forty times more than America. The problem is most acute in small mines, many of which are illegal, operate in more dangerous areas and have little apparent incentive to invest in safety. Apparently account for three quarters of the deaths but only one-third of production.
And even then, these are only the official figures. They do not take into account the scores of deaths which go unreported because local officials and journalists are so easily paid off.
The situation is completely unacceptable and international governments and unions should continue to apply pressure on China to undertake some form of meaningful action to address this downright awful situation.
The whistle-blowing role of online media
But on the bright side, the episode also highlights the constructive role which online forms of media can play in terms of corporate accountability.
As access to online media expands, so too will the capacity of individuals to blow the whistle on cover ups. It is one thing to lock in the loyalty of local officials and media (using handsome financial incentives), but persuading every single person who has access to a blog or some other form of online media to do the same would be extremely difficult.
In the new world, online media provides a wonderful mechanism to support whistle-blowing, and in many cases it, is only a matter of time before someone exploits this capability to expose even the most intricately planned conspiracy.
Of course, online media can also be a platform to spread misinformation, perhaps with malicious intent.
And unfortunately, the sad reality is that some firms will continue to attempt cover-ups of various kinds in spite of the increase risk of being exposed due to online media. Cover ups are a reality today, and will continue to be a reality throughout the foreseeable future.
But even so, the benefits of online media in terms of a whistle-blowing mechanism cannot be underestimated, and I would think that these benefits would far outweigh any associated drawbacks.
Where other mechanisms of accountability fail, it is wonderful that the online media provides those who wish to blow the whistle with an effective medium to do so.
Especially with respect to a grave tragedy like this.
Over to you
Do you think online media helps to promote better practices in terms of corporate governance? Why/Why not?
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