Twenty nine miners died recently in the Massey Energy mine in West Virginia in the worst coal mining disaster in the US in 40 years. How did MSHA let this happen. It was not very difficult. Federal governments, both Republican and Democrat, have over the past decades made sure that this outfit, the MSHA, was as the Wall Street Journal put it in its April 16th issue, " stacked with former mining executives." So the body that is supposed to look after miners safety and health is run by mine bosses and former mine bosses. What a racket. The foxes looking after the chicken coup.
Then there is the other dirty trick of the mine owners. If a mine is found be in violation of the safety and health rules then the mine owner keeps appealing the case in court just about indefinitely. In the past four years the back log of unsettled safety enforcement cases involving mining companies has grown to 16,000 from 2,100 in 2006. This way of getting out of looking after the safety of workers has gained strength under both Republican and Democratic Party regimes. Massey Energy, again according to the Wall Street journal, had a pattern of "endless litigation", that is they just kept appealing against any case where they were charged with being in violation of health and safety laws and if eventually they were convicted they paid a paltry fine. They viewed it as just part of the cost of doing business, cheaper than making the mine safe for the workers, twenty nine miners lives did not matter.
If mining is to continue and to be made safe radical changes have to be made. The mining industry has to be taken out of the hands of the profit addicted privately owned corporations. It has to be put under public ownership and workers' control and management. Only in this way can miners have a safer working environment.
Sean.
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