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A day before the accident a Load, Haul, Dump (LHD) machine got stuck in the underground mine due to blasts carried out without following safety regulations. The next day, on 25 October at around 10.15 am, an advance preparatory team entered the underground premises to recover the LHD machine. While recovering the machine, the mine roof collapsed. Four workers were killed in the accident while one LHD operator was seriously injured.The deceased have been identified as Ravi Shankar (excavator carrier operator), Ramprakash (LHD operator), Rajesh (maintenance worker) and Rafique (side discharge loader operator).S Q Zama, secretary general of IndustriALL affiliate the Indian National Mine Workers Federation (INMF) said:<blockquote>The method of mining was not in conformity with the statutory safety regulations. Deployment of personnel for supervision was also inadequate. Violations of various safety regulations are severe in this accident. We demand immediate enquiry of WCL’s internal safety organization and investigation by the Directorate General of Mine Safety. Authorities must ensure that such accident should not happen in future.”</blockquote>The union has also asked for the report of the magisterial enquiry ordered by the Chhindwara district collector. Statutory compensation has been provided to the victims’ family.

Convention 176 - Mine Safety

Asia-Pacific

India

Mining and DGOJP

Mining

Four workers were killed and one seriously injured in a mine accident on 25 October 2018 at Western Coalfields Limited’s (WCL) Neharia underground mine in the Pench region, Chhindwara district of Madhya Pradesh.

Four workers killed at Neharia underground mine in India

According to reports, the men were working hundreds of metres underground at a mine in the Chamalang coal mining range when the explosion took place. Miners had to retrieve the bodies of their colleagues themselves. All the victims of Wednesday’s blast, two of whom were brothers, were members of the same family from neighbouring Afghanistan. The tragedy struck just days after three more coal miners perished in the same area when a mine collapsed as they were working deep underground on 27 December 2018. A further miner was injured and rescued from the scene by co-workers.The latest casualties came just two days after a New Year’s Eve rally by IndustriALL affiliates demanding better safety in Pakistan’s mines after 120 coal miners died last year alone. The Pakistan Central Mine Labour Federation and All Pakistan Labour Federation staged a rally and protest outside the Quetta Press Club carrying placards and banners inscribed with various demands on 31 December.“In 2018 various incidents were reported in Chamalang, Shahrag, Harnai, Marwar, Sur Inj and Digari which left 120 mine workers martyred and hundreds injured, which has increased the sense of insecurity among poor mine workers,” said the unions in a statement. Mine workers’ union leaders addressed the protesters attacking the government’s woeful negligence towards the safety of mine workers, while also holding local contractors responsible for mining incidents.“Despite consecutive fatal mining incidents not a single mine’s license was cancelled or any action was taken,” they said and demanded government attention to the issue of coal mining safety. IndustriALL is calling on the government of Pakistan to urgently ratify the International Labour Organization’s Convention 176 on safety and health in mines to improve conditions in the country’s deadly mines.  IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said: <blockquote>“We say enough is enough. How many more miners need to die before safety is improved? The government must take action now and we are ready to offer our help and expertise to avoid more lives being sacrificed in the Pakistani coal industry.” </blockquote>

Health and safety

Pakistan: Mining deaths highlight urgent need to ratify ILO C176

Pakistan

IndustriALL’s campaign for safer mines in Pakistan continues into 2019 as four miners burnt to death and another miner was seriously injured in a methane blast at a coal mine in Baolochistan’s Dukki district on 2 January. 

New Year brings fresh tragedy for Pakistan’s coal miners

On 15 March, Peru’s government declared a 15-day state of emergency and introduced restrictions on movement in response to the health crisis caused by the coronavirus. Two days later, the Ministry of the Economy and Finance said that the measures do not include the mining sector, since it is considered an essential industry. It would therefore ensure that "critical operations continue with a skeleton staff and all the necessary health and safety precautions." The companies concerned can determine which employees and contractors constitute the skeleton staff.However, IndustriALL affiliate National Miners’ and Metalworkers’ Union (FNTMMSP), say that large mining companies and other private companies are requiring their employees to work without the necessary health and safety measures, despite the risk of infection.FNTMMSP secretary general Jorge Juárez say that hundreds of people working in the mines have yet to be evacuated:<div class="regularQuote"><blockquote>"A number of employees are still at work because they have received financial incentives from employers in the form of bonuses. The big mining companies have not brought in safety measures and don't want to evacuate workers. On mining sites, there are no controls – nobody checks that these companies are being responsible and complying with the measures."</blockquote></div>According to Juárez, many miners have pre-existing illnesses because they work in high temperatures, at altitude and are exposed to dust and contamination. This means that if infected, they are a high-risk group and should not have to keep going to work.In a letter to Peru’s President, Martín Vizcarra, IndustriALL Global Union's general secretary Valter Sanches, raises concerns over the lack of health protection for miners during the spread of the coronavirus.<div class="regularQuote"><blockquote>"We call on your government to take the necessary measures to help and protect your country's miners. They – like workers from various essential sectors around the world – are ready to play their part and make a huge effort. We want the miners to be able to return home safe and sound once the pandemic is under control."</blockquote></div>

Workers' rights

Peru

Even though Peru’s government has introduced a curfew and state of emergency, mineworkers still have to go to work without any virus-protection measures. 

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Four workers killed at Neharia underground mine in India

New Year brings fresh tragedy for Pakistan’s coal miners

Peru’s government puts economic interests before miners’ safety

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