Mine workers raise alarm over deteriorating safety standards

Mine workers have raised concerns over failure by mining companies to observe high safety standards, accusing their employers of prioritising profits over their safety.

The workers pointed out “a culture of impunity”, where regulations are flouted and basic precautions ignored, leading to preventable tragedies.

“Safety of workers was another concern,” Zimbabwe Diamond Allied Mine Workers Union (ZDAMWU) secretary general Justice Chinhema said.

ZDAMWU represents nearly a third on mine workers.

“(In 2023), we witnessed fatality accidence and many lives were lost raising fears that this trend might continue if no immediate solutions are found,” said Chinhema.

“The country has seen the emerging of unscrupulous and corrupt investors who uses their dirty money to corrupt systems so as to operate bellow standards for profits without considering the safety or health and plight of workers. The union has been dealing with these issues and they are at various stages of litigation and in some cases engagement.”

According to a survey by the Chamber of Mines of Zimbabwe (CoMZ), 110 fatalities have been recorded in the country’s mines between January and September 2023, an increase from 106 accident recorded during the same period last year.

Large-scale mining operations accounted for 18 percent of the total number of accidents reported during the period under review.

Of these accidents, 80 percent occurred in underground operations. Illegal mining operations, on the other hand, contributed 22 percent to the total number of accidents, while small to medium mining operations were responsible for a staggering 60 percent.

These figures paint a grim picture of the safety situation in Zimbabwe’s mining sector. The high prevalence of accidents in small to medium mining operations is particularly concerning, given the informal and often unregulated nature of these activities.

Last week, a rescue team pulled out all 15 subsistence mine workers who were trapped in an underground shaft at Redwing mine in Zimbabwe after it collapsed on Thursday.

The miners were trapped after a ground collapse at the mine owned by Metallon Gold. The rescue operation had been delayed due to unstable ground.-ebusinessweekly