In referring to miners trading safety for money, I didn't intend to let
the companies off the hook. As John Hinde says, this was AND IS an easy
out for management. The only thing in John's letter that I do argue with
is the implication that this was a situation that has now passed. A few
years ago, there was a disaster in the Westray Mine in the Canadian
maritimes. I will include a URL that will provide more information (but
not enough!!).
http://north.nsis.com/~amartin/index.html
After the Westray disaster, the government (as is common in
Canada) held an inquiry that was shown on television. The testimony at
the inquiry was shocking (although little was done to punish the men
mainly to blame).
The main points of interest from the inquiry was testimony that:
1. The Westray mine was supposed to be a showplace of modern methods
and
safety equipment. Unfortunately, much of the new equipment
(especially gas
testing equipment) failed to work. In some cases, this was a
fault in the equipment,
but shift bosses were known to have disconnected such equipment
on the coal
digging machines to maintain production. When problems with the
"back" slowed
production drastically, safety concerns were disgarded.
2. The provincial government was anxious to make this mine a success,
and pressured
inspectors, etc. to keep the mine functioning.
3. The miners were so anxious to keep a salary coming in that they
worked under
appalling conditions. They were afraid to protest conditions in
case the mine
would be shut down. They also didn't want to be fired and
blacklisted. They
also felt, quite justifiably, that no one would listen to them.
One man, who
normally worked as a mine manager, but was temporarily between
jobs, did
protest. Although the mines inspectors had dealt with him in
several of his
management positions, they accepted the company's claim that he
was simply
an agitator for the union. At the time of the inquiry, this man
still seemed to be
blacklisted.
4. Although I have never been a coal miner, I was appalled at some of
the things
that were going on in this mine. Welding was being done
underground without
following safety procedures. Inspectors deliberately kept away
from high dust
areas, and had excuses for not following up on the previous
man's complaints.
5. The mine managers kept away from the inquiry, and were never
forced to testify.
Sadly, the bad times are not over. I think all readers of this
page would benefit from viewing the video tapes of the Westray inquiry.
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