C176 | |
---|---|
ILO Convention | |
Date of adoption | 22 June, 1995 |
Date in force | 5 June, 1998 |
Classification | Industries and Occupations |
Subject | Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) |
Previous | Part-Time Work Convention, 1994 |
Next | Home Work Convention, 1996 |
The Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 is an International Labor Organization Convention adopted at the 82nd International Labor Conference (ILC). The convention (C176) was developed and adopted to better recognize the inherent hazards of the mining workplace and the necessity of addressing these hazards on a global scale. [1]
The convention aims to safeguard and oversee miners' Occupational Safety and Health (OSH). By ratification, the governments and employers of the countries involved were to be responsible for safety. This agreement was officially adopted by the International Labor Organization on June 22, 1995. [2]
As of June 2024, 35 nations have ratified this Convention. [3]
Due to the hazardous conditions that are present in mines, the governing body of the International Labor Organization (ILO) expressed the need for a convention regarding the health and safety of miners. The ILO wanted to prevent fatalities, injuries and environmental damage which resulted from unsafe mining. [4]
Mining safety is significant due to the numerous accidents that occur annually. The underground nature of the workplace often exposes workers to numerous hazards, such as harmful gases, falling debris, limited visibility, and uneven/dangerous terrain. Additionally, miners can become trapped during cave-ins, with the extraction and rescue process being both complicated and hazardous. Cave-ins pose a risk of secondary collapses since the necessary infrastructure to support the new topography would not be in place after an initial collapse, often trapping additional miners and rescue workers. When miners are trapped in rock pockets, the risks of explosions and oxygen deprivation are high. [5]
As of 2001, over 30 million people were employed in the mining industry. Despite comprising only 1% of the world's workforce, mining accounted for over 8% of total workplace fatalities. [6]
Before the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, there were numerous other conventions that were relevant to health and safety in the mines, such as the Safety and Health in Construction Convention and Recommendation, the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention and Recommendation, and the Medical Examination of Young Persons' (Underground Work) Convention. These conventions, however, were insufficient in protecting the health and safety of miners, which made the development of a new, more thorough, and worker-focused convention necessary. Thus, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention was developed. [7]
The document consists of 24 articles contained within 5 parts, preceded by a preamble.
In Article 19 of Part 5, the process of denouncing the Convention is laid out. Countries are allowed to denounce the Convention only under certain circumstances. The article states that a country may denounce the Convention ten years after the Convention first came into force (in 1998). No countries have denounced the Convention yet. [9]
The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, signed the Convention on January 5, 2001, with guidance from the Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman. The United States was the 16th country to ratify the Convention. [10]
Since the Convention contains laws enforceable by the government, the United States would be held accountable for all the laws within it. However, the United States already enforces many laws relevant to the Convention. The Department of Labor has a division applicable to miners. This division, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), has been an agency with a mission to promote a safe and healthy workplace for miners by preventing injury and disease since 1977. The main method of doing this is by enforcing the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, known as the Mine Act. The Mine Act sets various standards intended to reduce fatal accidents and minimize health hazards. Having the MSHA inspect every American mine accomplishes a part of the Mine Act. Additionally, the MSHA handles all accident reporting and safety issues from miners. [11] The disease black lung, which largely affects miners, is being addressed by the MSHA in hopes of reducing its prevalence in the United States. Similarly, the laws outlined in the Convention aim to lower the number of individuals with diseases obtained from the mining workplace. [12]
As a result of the already-implemented MSHA and the Mine Act in the United States, it was not clear whether or not the Convention ratification would have a large impact on the various mining health and safety laws. A tripartite panel consisting of representatives covering American government, labor and business was held. They compared the laws from the Convention and the laws set in place by the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. They concluded that the Convention could be signed by the president and ratified without the introduction of any new laws. This was due to the MSHA already enforcing all of the laws stated within the Convention. [13]
Even though the ratification would not introduce any new laws, Bill Clinton signed the Convention in 2001. [14] It is believed that the United States has an interest in holding other countries accountable for miners' health and safety. By ratifying the Convention, the United States could reach out to other countries for failing to enforce the applicable laws, which would hold other nations accountable. [15] In addition, the ratification helped make the United States mining industry more competitive in the global economy. (i.e., a coal buyer only interested in doing business with mines that had the Convention signed, whether on the basis of ethicality or legality, could lose business prior to the semantic ratification for American mines.)
At least 301 miners were killed in Soma, Turkey, after an explosion sent poisonous gasses throughout the mine. More than 100 workers survived the explosion and subsequent gas explosion but were killed as a result of the mine collapsing onto them. The backlash against the government and the mine's operator was strong, and the general manager and the operations manager were held on suspicion of neglect, which had caused numerous deaths. During the Soma disaster, a commission from the International Labor Organization was sent to discuss miners' health and safety with Turkish officials. The Turkish Labor minister, Faruk Çelik, claimed that strict laws were already in place in Turkey. In addition, Turkey claimed to be in full compliance with European Union standards and had laws even more advanced than the ILO Convention. [16]
IndustriALL, a global union that represents 50 million workers from 146 countries, urged Turkey to swiftly ratify the Convention following the Soma disaster. One of their goals as a global union is to make the world's mines safer. They claim that the best way to accomplish this is by having countries ratify the Convention and fully implement the laws and safety regulations contained within it. In addition, they state that the first priority of mining is to promote the safety and well-being of miners. They also state that favoring profit first should be considered intolerable criminal behavior. [17]
Following the Soma disaster, debates occurred in Turkey as to whether or not the government was protecting its miners from such disasters. Turkey was largely hesitant to begin ratification processes due to employer backlash over the cost of upholding the Convention's rules and regulations. In the end, the Turkish Grand National Assembly decided to formally adopt the Convention on December 4, 2014. Turkey's notice of ratification of the treaty was deposited on March 23, 2015.
However, this has not been a perfect resolution. Many employers are unable to cover the cost of the resulting changes, resulting in many mining companies reducing their workforce and closing down mines. [18]
Pneumoconiosis (also known as Black Lung or Miners' Lung) is an illness prevalent in the mining industry caused by prolonged exposure to mine dust, which can lead to respiratory failure and death. From 1968 to 2009, it was a contributor or underlying cause of death for over 73,800 worker deaths in the United States.[ citation needed ]. [19] The United States Federal government has paid 45 billion dollars in compensation to miners and their dependents affected by the illness.
Despite this, with modern safety measures, pneumoconiosis is easily preventable, and a properly ventilated mine equipped with modern tools presents a significantly lower risk to the contraction of the disease. [20] These measures, introduced following United States ratification of the Convention, have nearly eliminated Pneumoconiosis in the US. Whereas in China, where the Convention has not been ratified, pneumoconiosis remains prevalent: with 750,000 reported cases in 2013 and potentially many more unreported cases due to lax mining regulations [21]
Article 7 of the Convention requires employers to take measures to minimize the risk of disease. This includes having good ventilation in all locations of the mine in which miners come in contact with. The Convention also requires that the working environment be monitored for hazards that can induce disease. Finally, Article 5 requires that countries publish statistics on occupational disease (including black lung). [22]
The goal of the Convention is to create a set of standards to promote the health and safety of miners, however, many prominent mining countries have yet to ratify the Convention. Furthermore, nations that have ratified the convention differ in the amount of effort put into the relevant agencies.
Of the five industrialized nations that dominate the mining industry, only two have ratified the Convention (the United States and Germany), and only a fraction of developing countries with large mining sectors have signed at the Convention. China, the world's leading coal producer, has yet to ratify the Convention.
Apart from the countries that have not ratified it, The effectiveness of the Convention relies on the diligence of the governments, and nations that have ratified the Convention are ultimately responsible for creating the relevant agencies and enforcing the standards laid out in the Convention. [23]
In 2008, the European Commission released a Recommendation for all EU members to ratify recent conventions from the ILO, including Convention 176. Similar to the United States, many EU member states have laws already in place that would match or, in some cases, surpass the laws laid out in the Convention. However, the Recommendations laid out by the Commission did not just ask for the ratification of the various conventions. The Commission recognized the notion that governments can ratify but not enforce the Convention. Therefore, it asked for convention rules to be strengthened and ensured that a supervisory system was in place to monitor the effectiveness of convention enforcement. The recommendation was released despite opposition from some EU nations claiming that the funding to the ILO should be lowered or, in some cases, dropped. [24]
The ILO project in Ukraine was implemented between May 1, 2017 and March 31, 2020. Its aim is to increase mine safety and the health of miners by introducing and enhancing modern occupational safety and health (OSH) policies. Given its policy implications, the project has increased social partners' awareness of the need to take steps to improve occupational safety, prevent work accidents, and fully implement health protection measures. [25]
As of November 2022, 34 countries have ratified the convention.
Country | Ratification date | Status |
---|---|---|
![]() | March 3, 2003 | Ratified |
![]() | April 27, 1999 | Ratified |
![]() | May 26, 1999 | Ratified |
![]() | February 13, 2020 | Ratified |
![]() | October 2, 2012 | Ratified |
![]() | January 18, 2010 | Ratified |
![]() | June 5, 1997 | Ratified |
![]() | May 18, 2006 | Ratified |
![]() | June 14, 2024 | Ratified |
![]() | October 9, 2000 | Ratified |
![]() | June 9, 1997 | Ratified |
![]() | September 6, 1998 | Ratified |
![]() | April 25, 2017 | Ratified |
![]() | June 9, 1998 | Ratified |
![]() | February 23, 2000 | Ratified |
![]() | April 8, 2008 | Ratified |
![]() | November 26, 2015 | Ratified |
![]() | June 4, 2013 | Ratified |
![]() | June 14, 2018 | Ratified |
![]() | June 11, 1999 | Ratified |
![]() | June 19, 2008 | Ratified |
![]() | February 27, 1998 | Ratified |
![]() | June 25, 2001 | Ratified |
![]() | March 25, 2002 | Ratified |
![]() | July 19, 2013 | Ratified |
![]() | June 3, 1998 | Ratified |
![]() | June 9, 2000 | Ratified |
![]() | May 22, 1997 | Ratified |
![]() | June 9, 1997 | Ratified |
![]() | March 23, 2015 | Ratified |
![]() | June 15, 2011 | Ratified |
![]() | February 9, 2001 | Ratified |
![]() | June 5, 2014 | Ratified |
![]() | January 4, 1999 | Ratified |
![]() | April 9, 2003 | Ratified |
Pneumoconiosis is the general term for a class of interstitial lung disease where inhalation of dust has caused interstitial fibrosis. The three most common types are asbestosis, silicosis, and coal miner's lung. Pneumoconiosis often causes restrictive impairment, although diagnosable pneumoconiosis can occur without measurable impairment of lung function. Depending on extent and severity, it may cause death within months or years, or it may never produce symptoms. It is usually an occupational lung disease, typically from years of dust exposure during work in mining; textile milling; shipbuilding, ship repairing, and/or shipbreaking; sandblasting; industrial tasks; rock drilling ; or agriculture. It is one of the most common occupational diseases in the world.
The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 is a US labor law governing the federal law of occupational health and safety in the private sector and federal government in the United States. It was enacted by Congress in 1970 and was signed by President Richard Nixon on December 29, 1970. Its main goal is to ensure that employers provide employees with an environment free from recognized hazards, such as exposure to toxic chemicals, excessive noise levels, mechanical dangers, heat or cold stress, or unsanitary conditions. The Act created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH).
Silicosis is a form of occupational lung disease caused by inhalation of crystalline silica dust. It is marked by inflammation and scarring in the form of nodular lesions in the upper lobes of the lungs. It is a type of pneumoconiosis. Silicosis, particularly the acute form, is characterized by shortness of breath, cough, fever, and cyanosis. It may often be misdiagnosed as pulmonary edema, pneumonia, or tuberculosis. Using workplace controls, silicosis is almost always a preventable disease.
Labor rights or workers' rights are both legal rights and human rights relating to labor relations between workers and employers. These rights are codified in national and international labor and employment law. In general, these rights influence working conditions in the relations of employment. One of the most prominent is the right to freedom of association, otherwise known as the right to organize. Workers organized in trade unions exercise the right to collective bargaining to improve working conditions.
An occupational disease or industrial disease is any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of work or occupational activity. It is an aspect of occupational safety and health. An occupational disease is typically identified when it is shown that it is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in the general population, or in other worker populations. The first such disease to be recognised, squamous-cell carcinoma of the scrotum, was identified in chimney sweep boys by Sir Percival Pott in 1775. Occupational hazards that are of a traumatic nature are not considered to be occupational diseases.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is a large agency of the United States Department of Labor which administers the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 to enforce compliance with mandatory safety and health standards as a means to eliminate fatal accidents, to reduce the frequency and severity of nonfatal accidents, to minimize health hazards, and to promote improved safety and health conditions in the nation's mines. MSHA carries out the mandates of the Mine Act at all mining and mineral processing operations in the United States, regardless of size, number of employees, commodity mined, or method of extraction. David Zatezalo was sworn in as Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health, and head of MSHA, on November 30, 2017. He served until January 20, 2021. Jeannette Galanais served as Acting Assistant Secretary by President Joe Biden on February 1, 2021 until Christopher Williamson took office on April 11, 2022.
The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1999 as ILO Convention No 182. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions.
Black lung disease (BLD), also known as coal workers' pneumoconiosis, or simply black lung, is an occupational type of pneumoconiosis caused by long-term inhalation and deposition of coal dust in the lungs and the consequent lung tissue's reaction to its presence. It is common in coal miners and others who work with coal. It is similar to both silicosis from inhaling silica dust and asbestosis from inhaling asbestos dust. Inhaled coal dust progressively builds up in the lungs and leads to inflammation, fibrosis, and in worse cases, necrosis.
The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, U.S. Public Law 91-173, generally referred to as the Coal Act, was passed by the 91st United States Congressional session and enacted into law by the 37th President of the United States Richard Nixon on December 30, 1969.
TheFederal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 amended the Coal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1969. It can be found in the United States Code under Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining, Chapter 22, Mine Safety and Health.
Occupational Health Services Convention, 1985 is an International Labour Organization Convention.
A recommended exposure limit (REL) is an occupational exposure limit that has been recommended by the United States National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The REL is a level that NIOSH believes would be protective of worker safety and health over a working lifetime if used in combination with engineering and work practice controls, exposure and medical monitoring, posting and labeling of hazards, worker training and personal protective equipment. To formulate these recommendations, NIOSH evaluates all known and available medical, biological, engineering, chemical, trade, and other information. Although not legally enforceable limits, RELS are transmitted to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) or the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) of the U.S. Department of Labor for use in promulgating legal standards.
Joe Main is an American government official who formerly served as the Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health and head of the United States Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration. He was nominated to serve the position by Barack Obama and took office after being confirmed by the United States Senate on October 21, 2009.
The Black Lung Benefits Act (BLBA) is a U.S. federal law which provides monthly payments and medical benefits to coal miners totally disabled from pneumoconiosis arising from employment in or around the nation's coal mines. The law also provides monthly benefits to a miner's dependent survivors if pneumoconiosis caused or hastened the miner's death.
Occupational safety and health (OSH) or occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary field concerned with the safety, health, and welfare of people at work. OSH is related to the fields of occupational medicine and occupational hygiene and aligns with workplace health promotion initiatives. OSH also protects all the general public who may be affected by the occupational environment.
International labour law is the body of rules spanning public and private international law which concern the rights and duties of employees, employers, trade unions and governments in regulating Work and the workplace. The International Labour Organization and the World Trade Organization have been the main international bodies involved in reforming labour markets. The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have indirectly driven changes in labour policy by demanding structural adjustment conditions for receiving loans or grants. Issues regarding Conflict of laws arise, determined by national courts, when people work in more than one country, and supra-national bodies, particularly in the law of the European Union, have a growing body of rules regarding labour rights.
Mine safety is a broad term referring to the practice of controlling and managing a wide range of hazards associated with the life cycle of mining-related activities. Mine safety practice involves the implementation of recognised hazard controls and/or reduction of risks associated with mining activities to legally, socially and morally acceptable levels. While the fundamental principle of mine safety is to remove health and safety risks to mine workers, mining safety practice may also focus on the reduction of risks to plant (machinery) together with the structure and orebody of the mine.
Environmental justice and coal mining in Appalachia is the study of environmental justice – the interdisciplinary body of social science literature studying theories of the environment and justice; environmental laws, policies, and their implementations and enforcement; development and sustainability; and political ecology – in relation to coal mining in Appalachia.
J. Davitt McAteer is an American lawyer, author, and activist from Fairmont, West Virginia. McAteer was appointed to the position of assistant secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration from 1993 to 2000 under President Bill Clinton. Throughout his career, McAteer has been an advocate for safe working conditions for miners, particularly in the coal industry. After the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster of 2010, where an explosion caused by negligence led to the death of 29 miners, McAteer Served on Governor Earl Ray Tomblin's independent investigation panel to determine the cause of the explosion. McAteer is the author of "Monongah: The Tragic Story of the 1907 Monongah Mine Disaster".
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