Miners to stop working to remembers friends who died last week
Miners to stop working to remembers friends who died last week
Mine workers will stop work on Wednesday for one hour during each of their three shifts in mines to commemorate the deaths of at least 28 colleagues who were killed in an explosion last week. The workers also plan to protest the subcontracting system in mines. If it were necessary to counter careless words by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said that "the accident was fate" and that the "reports of the mine cave-in were exaggerated by the press", it takes a look at who were the miners who died to understand that this accident was no 'fate'. Ramis Muslu, head of miners union Genel Maden-Ýþ, put it blantly: "This is murder. Our union was saying from the beginning that a disaster was waiting to happen because of the presence of subcontractors underground". Subcontractors. Yes, because the deceased miners, it turned out, were working for the Yapýtek Company, a subcontracted firm that was opening galleries in Karadon mine, a state enterprise.
Ramis Muslu pointed out that three subcontractor firms were working under the institution. And he added that his union reacted angrily when proposals to give underground work to subcontracting firms was first tabled in 2004. At the time the trade union demonstrated against the subcontracting system, but the subcontractor firms but to no avail. Indeed the subcontractor firms entered the mines in July 2005.
Subcontractors mean the same everywhere in the world. These are firms which put saving money and profit first. So they employ workers with no training. This is true for every sector in which subcontractors are involved. Training and safety issues should be the first priority. In fact they are the last. Even when, as experienced miners point out, learning how to walk in a mine requires training.
The Genel Maden-Ýþ trade union has a presence in the Karadon mine in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak where last Monday’s explosion occurred. It were they which declare tomorrow's action. But are miners are joining the walk-out, like those working at the Turkey Coal Institution, or TTK, a state enterprise.
Ramis Muslu pointed out that three subcontractor firms were working under the institution. And he added that his union reacted angrily when proposals to give underground work to subcontracting firms was first tabled in 2004. At the time the trade union demonstrated against the subcontracting system, but the subcontractor firms but to no avail. Indeed the subcontractor firms entered the mines in July 2005.
Subcontractors mean the same everywhere in the world. These are firms which put saving money and profit first. So they employ workers with no training. This is true for every sector in which subcontractors are involved. Training and safety issues should be the first priority. In fact they are the last. Even when, as experienced miners point out, learning how to walk in a mine requires training.
The Genel Maden-Ýþ trade union has a presence in the Karadon mine in the Black Sea province of Zonguldak where last Monday’s explosion occurred. It were they which declare tomorrow's action. But are miners are joining the walk-out, like those working at the Turkey Coal Institution, or TTK, a state enterprise.
