Table of Contents
Chapter I: General Provisions
Article 1 This Law is enacted for the purposes of strengthening work safety, preventing and reducing work safety accidents, ensuring the safety of people’s lives and property, and promoting the safe development of economic and social undertakings.
Article 2 This Law shall apply to work safety in entities engaged in production and business operation activities within the territory of the People’s Republic of China. Where laws and administrative regulations provide otherwise for work safety in firefighting, road traffic safety, railway traffic safety, waterway traffic safety, civil aviation safety, nuclear and radiation safety, or special equipment safety, such provisions shall prevail.
Article 3 Work safety shall adhere to the leadership of the Communist Party of China. Work safety shall be people-centered, adhere to the principle that people and lives come first, and that safety comes before development, and firmly establish the concept of safe development. The policy of safety first, prevention oriented, and comprehensive management shall be implemented in work safety, and the main responsibility of production and business operation entities shall be strengthened.
Article 4 Production and business operation entities shall comply with the provisions of this Law and other laws and regulations on work safety, strengthen work safety management, establish and improve the work safety responsibility system and work safety rules and regulations for all employees, and improve the conditions for work safety.
Article 5 The principal person in charge of a production and business operation entity shall be the first person responsible for the entity’s work safety and shall assume overall responsibility for the entity’s work safety. Other responsible persons shall assume work safety responsibilities within the scope of their respective duties.
Chapter II: Workplace Safety Assurance by Production and Business Operation Entities
Article 6 A production and business operation entity shall have the work safety conditions prescribed by the relevant laws, administrative regulations, national standards, or industry standards. A production and business operation entity that does not have the work safety conditions shall not engage in production and business operation activities.
Article 7 A production and business operation entity shall establish a work safety management institution and equip it with work safety management personnel in accordance with law. The principal person in charge and the work safety management personnel of a production and business operation entity shall have work safety knowledge and management capabilities commensurate with the production and business operation activities engaged in by the entity.
Article 8 A production and business operation entity shall provide its employees with work safety education and training to ensure that its employees have the necessary work safety knowledge, are familiar with the relevant work safety rules and regulations and safe operation procedures, master the safe operation skills of their respective positions, understand the emergency response measures for accidents, and are aware of their rights and obligations in work safety.
Article 9 The construction, reconstruction, or expansion of a construction project (hereinafter referred to as “construction project”) shall have its safety facilities designed, constructed, and put into use simultaneously with the principal part of the project. The design of the safety facilities shall comply with the relevant national standards or industry standards. The safety facilities shall be inspected and accepted before the construction project is put into use.
Article 10 A production and business operation entity shall set up obvious safety warning signs at production and business operation premises and on relevant facilities and equipment where there are relatively large hazardous factors. The safety equipment of a production and business operation entity shall be installed, used, tested, repaired, and renovated in accordance with the relevant national standards or industry standards and shall be regularly maintained and serviced to ensure normal operation.
Article 11 A production and business operation entity shall establish a system for screening and controlling accident hazards and take technical and management measures to discover and eliminate accident hazards in a timely manner. The screening and control of accident hazards shall be truthfully recorded and publicized to employees.
Article 12 A production and business operation entity shall provide employees with labor protection articles that meet the national standards or industry standards, and supervise and educate its employees to wear and use them in accordance with the rules of use.
Chapter III: Rights and Obligations of Employees
Article 13 Employees of a production and business operation entity shall have the right to be informed of the hazardous factors existing at their workplace and positions, the preventive measures, and the accident emergency response measures, and shall have the right to make suggestions on the work safety of their entity.
Article 14 Employees shall have the right to criticize, report, or file complaints against problems existing in the work safety of their entity, and shall have the right to refuse to follow illegal commands or to engage in operations where safety is not ensured. Production and business operation entities shall not reduce the wages and welfare benefits of employees or terminate the labor contracts concluded with employees because the employees criticized, reported, filed complaints, or refused to follow illegal commands or to engage in operations where safety was not ensured.
Article 15 Where an employee discovers an emergency situation that directly threatens his personal safety, he shall have the right to cease operations or evacuate the workplace after taking possible emergency measures. Production and business operation entities shall not reduce the wages or other benefits of employees because they ceased operations or evacuated the workplace under the emergency situation specified in the preceding paragraph.
Article 16 In work safety, employees shall strictly abide by the entity’s work safety rules and regulations and operating procedures, comply with management, and correctly wear and use labor protection articles. Employees shall receive work safety education and training, master the work safety knowledge required for their own work, improve their work safety skills, and enhance their ability to prevent accidents and handle emergencies.
Chapter IV: Supervision and Administration of Work Safety
Article 17 The emergency management department of the people’s government at or above the county level shall exercise comprehensive supervision and administration of work safety within its administrative area in accordance with this Law. The relevant departments of the people’s governments at or above the county level shall, in accordance with this Law and other relevant laws and regulations, exercise supervision and administration of work safety within the scope of their respective duties.
Article 18 The departments responsible for the supervision and administration of work safety shall, when performing their supervisory and administrative duties, have the right to take the following measures: (1) entering production and business operation entities for inspection and accessing relevant materials; (2) discovering and ordering the elimination of accident hazards in a timely manner; (3) ordering the suspension of use of facilities, equipment, and devices that do not comply with work safety standards; (4) sealing up or seizing facilities, equipment, or devices that do not meet work safety standards; and (5) investigating and imposing administrative penalties for illegal acts in accordance with law.
Chapter V: Emergency Rescue, Investigation, and Handling of Work Safety Accidents
Article 19 A production and business operation entity shall formulate its own emergency rescue plan for work safety accidents, establish an emergency rescue organization or designate emergency rescue personnel, and equip the necessary emergency rescue equipment and materials.
Article 20 Where a work safety accident occurs, the entity concerned shall immediately initiate its emergency rescue plan for work safety accidents, organize rescue operations, prevent the accident from expanding, and reduce casualties and property losses. The entity where the accident occurs shall immediately report the accident to the relevant department responsible for the supervision and administration of work safety.
Article 21 After receiving an accident report, the relevant department responsible for the supervision and administration of work safety shall immediately report to its superior in accordance with the relevant state provisions. No entity or individual shall conceal, falsely report, or delay the reporting of an accident, and shall not instruct others to conceal, falsely report, or delay the reporting of an accident.
Chapter VI: Legal Liability
Article 22 Where a production and business operation entity commits any of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, it shall be ordered to take corrective action within a prescribed time limit and may be fined not more than RMB 50,000; where it fails to take corrective action within the prescribed time limit, it shall be ordered to cease production and business operations for rectification and a fine of not less than RMB 50,000 and not more than RMB 100,000 shall be imposed, and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly liable persons shall be fined not less than RMB 10,000 and not more than RMB 20,000: (1) failing to establish a work safety management institution or equip it with work safety management personnel; (2) the principal person in charge or the work safety management personnel failing to pass the assessment; or (3) failing to conduct work safety education and training for employees.
Article 23 Where a production and business operation entity fails to take measures to eliminate accident hazards, it shall be ordered to eliminate them immediately or within a prescribed time limit and a fine of not more than RMB 50,000 shall be imposed. Where a production and business operation entity refuses to comply, it shall be ordered to cease production and business operations for rectification and the directly responsible person in charge and other directly liable persons shall be fined not less than RMB 50,000 and not more than RMB 100,000.
Article 24 Where a work safety accident occurs in a production and business operation entity and causes human casualties or property losses, the production and business operation entity shall bear liability for compensation in accordance with law. Where the entity refuses to bear or the person responsible for the accident flees, the people’s court shall enforce the compensation in accordance with law.
Article 25 Where any provisions of this Law are violated and a crime is constituted, criminal liability shall be pursued in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Criminal Law.
Chapter VII: Supplementary Provisions
Article 26 For the purposes of this Law, “hazardous articles” means flammable and explosive substances, hazardous chemicals, radioactive substances, and other articles that may endanger personal safety and property safety. For the purposes of this Law, “major hazardous sources” means long-term or temporary production, handling, use, or storage of hazardous articles, where the quantity of the hazardous articles is equal to or exceeds the critical quantity.
Article 27 This Law shall come into force on November 1, 2002. The 2021 Amendment shall come into force on September 1, 2021.
Translation note: This is an unofficial English translation for reference purposes. The original Chinese text shall prevail in all legal matters.
