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12 February, 2007
Two tragic coal mine explosions in Colombia over the past nine days illustrates again how deadly the combination of high coal demand is with inadequate safety methods. Thirty-two miners perished in a methane gas explosion on 3 February at two inter-connected mines in Sardinata, Norte de Santander state, while eight people died at an illegal mine near Gámeza, Boyacá state, on 6 February.
Among the Gámeza fatalities was a 13-year-old boy, killed with 3 others by an initial blast some 160 metres underground. Four others were either killed by a second explosion, or asphyxia, when they entered the mine shaft in a rescue attempt. The proprietor of the illegal mine, as well as the three others, including the wife of one trapped miner and the brother of another, were killed in the rescue attempt.
In the deadly 3 February explosion at the San Roque and La Preciosa Mines, colleries without union representation, miners were trapped and perished 400 metres underground. Two days after the blast, authorities were investigating whether or not the mines had the proper permits for operating.
The two mining catastrophes come at a time when Colombia’s government fails to adopt labour protections, as stated under ILO standards, into the nation’s labour code. The mining deaths also occurred just days before a 90-day review process opens on the US-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, a market pact in which civil society is demanding those same labour standards be included.
The Norte de Santander death toll of 32 nine days ago is the worst mining day in Colombia in 30 years, dating back to 1977 when 100 miners perished at the Amagá mines in Antioquia state. There are some 200 underground mines now operating in Norte de Santander state, which lies along the Venezuelan border. The high price and high demand for coal means operators are striving to meet maximum output, with little or no time for safety.
The equipment at the San Roque and La Preciosa Mines was described as antiquated and rudimentary, while equipment at the Gámeza mine was nearly non-existent. Mining there was artisan. Operators at nearly all of Colombia’s small and mid-sized collieries employ short-term contract workers.
In Boyacá state, in central Colombia, it is estimated that some 100 coal mines operate illegally. In many, children between the ages of 10 and 18 are digging or carry coal to the surface. Many of the mines are unregistered collectives, unaffiliated with any company or enterprise.
Much of the blame for last week’s deaths can be placed squarely with the federal government, as can countless other safety deficiencies causing death and injury in Colombia’s mines,. With a rigid priority of attracting foreign investment to Colombia, the Uribe government has been remiss to adopt global labour standards, while focusing instead on neo-liberal deregulation.
Statutory changes, for instance, have weakened the role of state governments in monitoring and regulating work conditions, while federal oversight has been slow or non-existent. The proliferation of illegal mining in remote portions of different Colombian departments bears this out.
The ICEM expresses its sincere condolences to the families of the 40 miners in Colombia, and promises to remain vigilant on the global front in pressing the Colombian government for safety and security, both on and off the job.
Click here for a joint ICEM-ITUC letter, in English, or in Spanish, to the President of Colombia on the disasters.