2010 Pike River tragedy “accident waiting to happen”8 November, 2012Almost two years after the tragic mine accident at Pike River, New Zealand that killed 29 miners, the Royal Commission of Inquiry published its damning report this week illustrating an “unrelenting picture of failure at virtually every level”.
Support the campaign to ratify ILO C17614 April, 201628 April is International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. Let’s put pressure on countries to ratify ILO Convention 176, and end the safety crisis in mining!
Tragedy in crisis ridden Central African Republic1 July, 2013Driven by desperation and poverty amidst political upheaval, workers resumed mining at a site that had been closed in 2009 after a landslide killed 16 people. The reopened site saw tragedy on 23 June when its collapse killed 52 miners.
Supervisor killed in a protest at Zambian Collum Mine8 August, 2012A Chinese supervisor at Collum Coal Mine in Zambia was killed and another seriously wounded after being hit by a trolley pushed at them by workers on 4 August 2012. Workers were angry that the mining company had failed to raise wages in line with new minimums set by the Zambian government.
Pakistan mine safety crisis continues30 January, 2020The start of 2020 has seen increasing accidents and deaths in Pakistan’s coal mines, exposing the near non-existence of safety measures and continued negligence from the employers and the government.
South Africa: Demand for better safety after nearly 1,000 miners trapped 2 February, 2018Trade unions in South Africa are calling for an urgent review of safety after almost 1,000 miners were trapped underground for more than 24-hours at the Sibanye-Stillwater Beatrix gold mine in Free State.
IndustriALL and BWI file OECD complaint against BHP Billiton and Vale 26 March, 2018IndustriALL Global Union and the Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) have filed a complaint against the British-Australian company, BHP Billiton, and Brazilian mining multinational, Vale S.A., under the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.
2020: a year of carnage for Pakistan’s mineworkers7 January, 2021Pakistani mineworkers’ unions estimate that at least 208 workers were killed on the job in 2020. This trend seems set to continue this year, with a fatal accident on New Years’ Day, and two fatal accidents and a terror attack on 3 January. So far this year, 14 mineworkers have been killed.
Pakistan: 19 miners including rescue workers die in coal mine accident16 August, 2018 On 12 August 2018, two days before Pakistan’s Independence Day, a total of 19 including 13 coal miners and six rescue workers died in a horrific accident at Sanjidi coalmine near Quetta in Baluchistan province.
Handbook on safety and health for sandstone mine workers released 24 March, 2016A new publication on “Safety and health for sandstone mine workers” has been released by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and IndustriALL Global Union. It aims to strengthen the capacity of informal sandstone mine workers to understand and improve workplace safety and prevent child labour.
