The State Administration of Work Safety (SAWS) has warned there will be serious consequences over any attempts to bypass its latest regulation on mining safety that took effect on Thursday and requires pit bosses to go underground with miners.

The regulation circulated in September was favorably received by the public for technically linking the safety of pit bosses with that of miners, until it was tested at a mine in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region when seven new assistants were promoted to managerial roles, so they could take their bosses' places in the pits.

"We will strictly deal with any incidents of this kind," China National Radio quoted SAWS spokesman Huang Yi as having said.

According to Huang, the case is not unique. There have been further reports of pit bosses having someone else take their place down the shafts.

The radio station reported that an inspection team, consisting of members of the State Council and local government, discovered that four of the seven assistants at the mine in Guangxi do not have current safety (supervision) certificates.

The inspection uncovered that another company in Hengxian county of the autonomous region also appointed 12 "on-duty mine managers" to go below ground with the miners for the pit's actual manager and nine deputy managers.

More than 2,600 people died in mining accidents last year in China, though the death rate has decreased in recent years after the government closed many illegal mines.

Following a series of deadly mining accidents, Premier Wen Jiabao in July ordered mine managers to spend some time in the shafts along with their miners, so that they would become more focused on pit safety.

The regulation was then circulated in September. It calls for coal mines in violation of the rules to be fined from 150,000 yuan (US$22,400) to 5 million yuan, depending on whether a serious accident has taken place.

Bosses could be fined from 10,000 yuan up to 80 percent of their income the previous year and be banned for life from working as supervisors at mines.

Miners also have the right not to go down into the pits when their bosses have opted out of doing so themselves, according to the regulation.

Hou Yun, 35, a miner at the Jinhuagong Coalmine in Shanxi Province's capital Taiyuan, said the regulation was necessary.

"Leaders who go underground know what risks need to be fixed. They can communicate with different operating teams on site and address the risks timely and effectively."

The work safety authority in east China's Zhejiang Province on Wednesday pledged to step up its efforts to hold company leaders responsible for major accidents, Xinhua News Agency reported.

(China Daily October 8, 2010)