It is no secret that being a miner in Pakistan is a difficult and dangerous job. Accidents, such as cave-ins, poisonous gas leaks, explosions and rock bursts are frequent. Those lucky enough to survive these disasters have to worry about a plethora of respiratory diseases, such as coalworker’s pneumoconiosis, also known as black lung disease. In short, miners frequently die young in this country.
Only yesterday, four coal miners suffocated to death in a mine in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s (KP’s) Kala Khel area. According to a statement by the Khyber District Assistant Commissioner, five miners had entered the coal mine to check carbon monoxide levels. It turned out that the concentration levels of the poisonous gas they had been sent to detect was so high that only one of the men was able to be rescued in time.
The KP government is well-informed of the dangerous work environment labourers in the mining industry have to face every day. In December 2018, Mines and Mineral Development Minister Amjad Ali had vowed that all mines with insufficient safety measures would be shut down. It is therefore hoped that a proper inquiry is made into the Kala Khel tragedy and the mine shut down if its owners are proven to be negligent.
It is necessary that something be done to improve the working conditions of Pakistan’s miners. Many have already died this year. In the Dukki area of Balochistan for example, four coal miners burned to death after a methane explosion on January 2. Later that same month, at least six coal miners died in Dukki again after the mine collapsed after a gas explosion.
The federal and provincial governments must uphold and enforce the 1923 Mines Act, which entitles miners to extensive safety and labour welfare regulations and medical allowance in cases of injuries or illnesses received while working in a mine. There is a significant power imbalance between those who own Pakistan’s mines and those who work in them, and it is the government’s duty to ensure that exploitation and endangerment of workers is not allowed. *