Killing miners isn't accidental
Published by MAC on 2006-01-11
Killing miners isn't accidental
11th January 2006
The deaths of twelve miners in West Virginia, earlier this month, has belatedly triggered close examination of the workings of the US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The conclusions are appalling, with numerous instances emerging of bad safety records never properly addressed, derisory fines for violation, concealment of important data and - perhaps worst of all - a culture within the Bush regime of spiking vital legislation.
At the root of this decline is the de-unionisation of mine labour forces - a global phenomenon which is now about to strike Australia, and has already blighted Canada.