The Ministry of Emergency Planning intends to encourage "internal reporting" experts: help to obtain hidden danger information
The Beijing News (Reporter Wang Jun), the "whistleblower" who reports hidden dangers of major accidents and production safety violations of production and business units, the Emergency Management Department plans to raise the reward standard. On June 3, the official website of the Ministry of Emergency Management announced the "Regulations on Safe Production Reporting of Employees of Production and Operation Units (Draft for Comment)", which stipulates that production and operation units shall protect the legitimate rights and interests of whistleblowers and shall not retaliate against whistleblowers.
The "Draft for Comments" emphasizes the internal reporting and protection of production and business positions. Lin Hongchao, director of the Emergency Management Law and Policy Research Base of China University of Political Science and Law, believes that this has a lot to do with the major security accidents in recent years, especially last year. Yancheng Xiangshui "3·21" explosion occurred.
He said that the hidden danger information in the field of safety production is very complex and difficult to be discovered. Encouraging insiders to report can reduce the cost of law enforcement information acquisition and improve law enforcement efficiency.
"Encourage internal reporting to reduce the cost of acquiring hidden danger information"
The reporter noticed that a report system with rewards had been established in the field of work safety, but no distinction was made between general public reports and employees of production and business units.
The "Draft for Comment" is applicable to the reporting and handling of the hidden dangers of major accidents and production safety violations by the employees of the production and operation units.
Lin Hongchao, director of the Emergency Management Law and Policy Research Base of China University of Political Science and Law, said this meant emphasizing the handling and protection of internal reports.
He explained that in the field of safety production, internal whistleblowers are very important and very useful. "The hidden danger information in the field of safety production is very complicated, and it is difficult for external personnel to find it, and the reported information may be distorted. Encouraging insiders to report can solve the problem of information acquisition costs."
The exploration of internal reports has been "tested" in the field of food safety. Lin Hongchao said that food production and processing are more complicated, but safety production is even more complicated.
"Especially in the production of hazardous chemicals, the appearance, craftsmanship, and variety are complex, and it is difficult for the regulatory authorities to have all aspects of the production process. Therefore, it is necessary to encourage insiders to report, which can reduce the cost of obtaining law enforcement information and improve law enforcement efficiency. "
The "Request for Comments" emphasized internal reporting. Lin Hongchao believes that this has a lot to do with the major security accidents in recent years, especially the Yancheng Xiangshui "3·21" explosion accident last year. "Hazardous chemical industry has certain characteristics. It can drive local economic development and guarantee employment. Therefore, many local governments have a blind eye to safe production, and there is a problem of insufficient power of regulatory authorities."
"Severe sanctions for possible retaliation"
Earlier, many voices pointed out that in addition to high rewards, strict whistleblower protection also needs to be supported.
Lin Hongchao said that the internal confidentiality mechanism of administrative agencies must be very strict. It is best to set up special personnel to contact the reporting information, and the division of responsibility for confidentiality should also be clear.
He also emphasized that the whistleblowers' companies must have corresponding countermeasures against their retaliation. "For companies, it is not difficult to find out the whistleblower internally, such as which production link is involved in the reporting problem, and who is in contact with the work of this link, it is easier to understand. Therefore, retaliation that may follow , There must be severe sanctions."
This time, the "Consultation Draft" stipulates that, if it is determined to retaliate against the whistleblower or informant, in addition to being severely dealt with according to law, the emergency management department may also impose joint punishment on the production and operation unit and its related personnel.
Previously, the former State Administration of Safety Supervision and other departments issued the "Notice on the Implementation Measures for Joint Disciplinary Actions for Untrustworthiness in the Field of Work Safety". The joint punishment has been implemented in practice.
"Incorporating joint disciplinary measures is a more effective measure. For companies or principals, being included in joint disciplinary measures is fatal and will affect the company's subsequent financing and land use," Lin Hongchao said.