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16 October, 2006
A miners' strike in Kazakhstan that started following the deadly 20 September methane blast in a coal mine that killed 41 has ended. Some 24,500 workers at eight coal mines in central Kazakhstan, owned by the world's largest steelmaker, Arcelor Mittal Steel, returned to their colleries on 5 October after safety and pay demands were partially met.
The strike, which started on 25 September, was joined a few days later by steelworkers from Mittal's steel enterprises in the Karaganda region, as well as by iron ore miners employed by the company.
The metalworkers' union had experienced little movement in two months of negotiations prior to the strike, but significant wage gains were won on that front as well. Arcelor Mittal officials admitted that the strike, which stopped production at all eight coal mines, had caused a 30% decline in steel output.
The Korgau coal miners' trade union reported that Arcelor Mittal gave pledges of new mining equipment to replace antiquated machinery already in use prior to 1995, the year that the company purchased the mines as well as vast steelmaking facilities from a state-run company. Miners also realised a doubling, effective 1 October, of their pay. New pay packets will now be the equivalent of US$700 per month.
Steelworkers, who previously had an average pay of US$300 per month, won a 1 October increase of 20%, and will receive another 10% in February 2007.
The methane explosion at the Lenin mine that claimed the 41 lives was the worst mining disaster on record in the central Asian republic. Last week, Arcelor Mittal announced that it made a one-time allowance equivalent to ten years' pay to each of the deceased miners' families. In addition, those families with children under 18 will receive monthly allowances. The one-off payments, however, hardly compensate for the pain and loss of a primary wage-earner. The average payment amounts to US$63,000.
The strikes and protests that followed the explosion, which also seriously injured six miners, had the support and endorsement from Kazakhstan's government. The lower house of Parliament, the Majilis, moved to seek a change in the Kazakh labour code in which core industries such as mining and metallurgy have defined and set levels of minimum pay.
"Foreign investors economise on everything from equipment to sick leave, making miners work in inhuman conditions," said Parliament Deputy Mukhtar Tinikeyev. He added that Arcelor Mittal had attempted to shift blame of the Lenin Mine disaster "to three person -- the chief engineer and two mechanics. But the blame rests with foreign investors who economise on equipment."
Arcelor Mittal, with 61 steel plants in 27 countries, derives 8% of its total steel-making capacity from its operations in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan.