Read this article in:
14 June, 2010
At the Fifth Congress of the Mining and Metallurgical Trade Union of Kyrgyzstan (MMTUK) in Bishkek on 3 June, the union’s Central Committee reported grave safety conditions in both mining and metal operations. The committee said the number of accidents continues to grow yearly, and cautioned its report does not give the full picture since inspections were only carried out in and around 34 union-represented installations.
MMTUK’s technical labour inspection has investigated 111 accidents over the past few years, and found a total of 525 violations. The Central Committee said that between 2005 and 2009, the number of industrial accidents in which persons were injured or killed increased five-fold.
It said that number most probably is much higher if inspections were to be done in workplaces without the presence of a union. The union’s statistics also did not take into account illnesses brought on by occupational disease.
MMTUK said four workers died in its operations in 2009. It also said that antiquated equipment was a partial reason for the increased accident reason, and also reported that one-third of all the accidents that the union investigated occurred in road-traffic accidents involving industrial transport.
The Congress also noted that despite several trans-national companies taking up operations in Kyrgyzstan, the global financial crisis, as well as the social, political, and economic upheaval inside the Central Asian country, has caused deteriorating work conditions.
In April, citizens’ unrest forced the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiyey and since, civil strife has been a regular occurrence in the southern part of the country.