Lesson from lethal accident

It was only a matter of time before there was an accident such as the deadly explosion in a factory in Kunshan on Saturday that killed 75 workers and seriously injured another 185.

For the workers in this Taiwan-funded auto parts producer in East China's Jiangsu province, were they not killed in this explosion, which a preliminary investigation suggests was caused because of the concentrations of floating dust from the polishing of wheel hubs, they might well die gradually of pneumoconiosis, a disease caused by accumulation of dust in the lungs.

The investigation conducted so far has found that the workshop was not designed and built as it should have been for such a dangerous work and there was a catalog of violations of the country's safety rules: It had too many assembly lines, dust elimination equipment was not available for every work station, the electric facilities within the workshop were not designed and installed as required, the dust was not cleared up daily as it should have been, and the workers did not receive any safety education.

The plant was a sweatshop, and the company management cannot shirk responsibility for the deaths of so many workers and for their working in such miserable and dangerous conditions.

But what if the local government had set and enforced higher safety thresholds for the factory?

What if the local work safety watchdogs had exercised proper supervision over the working conditions, so that the legally required dust elimination equipment and adequate ventilation were in place?

What if the workers had the awareness to organize themselves for the protection of their rights and interests, or the trade union had fulfilled its role and done that for them?

In reality, Kunshan, like the majority of local governments, ignored the potential risks to lives in this way so it could attract the investors that propel the growth of local gross domestic product and swell the local coffers.

For many local governments, pleasing investors is the basic principle when it comes to attracting them. The protection of workers' lawful interests and rights, labor protection, decent working conditions, all can be compromised for the sake of investment.

This deadly explosion in Kunshan shows the risks inherent in such favorable policies; policies which in the long run harm not only the workers, but also the local economy and investors as well.

All parties involved in the accident should learn the lesson that compromising work safety is against their own interests and costs lives.