14 April, 201628 April is International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers. Let’s put pressure on countries to ratify ILO Convention 176, and end the safety crisis in mining!
Already this year, there have been many fatal mining accidents: in the US, Pakistan, China, Congo, Russia and elsewhere. The fall in commodity prices worldwide means mining companies are under financial pressure, and safety is often the first to go.
It doesn’t have to be like this: every accident is preventable. When an accident happens, it is because the company has failed to properly implement safety measures.
The best solution is to encourage countries to ratify ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health on Mines.
This safety convention works by:
- Getting countries to create a legal and inspection framework for mine safety
- Requiring companies to create a safe working environment
- Giving workers the right to independent safety representatives, and to refuse unsafe work
But ILO C176 has only been ratified by 31 countries - and many countries with the worst safety record have not signed up.
If you use social media, please help to spread the word about ILO C176 by supporting our Thunderclap. Click Join this Thunderclap, and then click "Support with Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr" (or all three).
On 28 April, the Thunderclap will send a message from your account calling on countries to ratify C176.
Let’s build some momentum, and make mining safer.
Please also use the hashtags #MineSafety, #C176 and #IWMD16.
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