A worker loads coal on a truck at a depot near a coal mine from the state-owned Longmay Group on the outskirts of Jixi, Heilongjiang Province, China, Oct. 24, 2015.
Oversupply of coal in China has been a great opportunity for miners to reunite with their families this Lunar New Year holiday.
For the first time in six years, Liu Jiawei celebrated the Chinese Lunar New Year with his family at home as opposed to his colleagues in a coalmine. The 28-year-old coalmine electrician instantaneously rescheduled his trip back home when the mine he worked for in northern Chinese Shanxi Province gave employees holiday for the Spring Festival.
According to the Global Times, previously, coal miners in China never had time to celebrate the festival since they were kept at work to ensure steady supply of coal for power generators across the country. However, as coal consumption declined amid a slowing economy and production surplus mounted, the China National Coal Association encouraged mines all over the country to send workers home during the Spring Festival this year, as long as work safety and stable supply of coal were guaranteed.
Data collected by the agency indicates that coal stockpiles in China remained above 300 million tonnes for four years.
In Shanxi Province, officials have recently decided to give a chance to coalmines to suspend production and give employees a break during statutory holidays and Sundays as part of the province’s move to address the overproduction of coal.
For employees, the move to give them more holidays and rest has spurred mixed feelings. According to young miner Shi Yanpeng, the holiday implies he can enjoy the festival just like other people working in other sectors. However, he is also concerned that the holidays could be the start of extended breaks once overcapacity gets worse.
Some workers are already going back home with smaller paychecks as increased weakness in demand has overcome coal prices.
China National Coal Association pointed out that giving breaks for coal miners during the statutory holidays should be an institutionalized exercise in the country in the near future as coal supply is expected to remain in surplus.