Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995

C176
ILO Convention
Date of adoption	June 22, 1995
Date in force	June 5, 1998
Classification	Industries and Occupations
Subject	Occupational Safety and Health
Previous	Part-Time Work Convention, 1994
Next	Home Work Convention, 1996

The Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995, was an International Labour Organization Convention adopted at the 82nd International Labour Conference (ILC) of the International Labour Organization (ILO). During the adoption of the Safety and Health in Mines Convention (C176), it was recognized that there were inherent hazards in the mining workplace, and there was a need for a convention to address them. ^[1]

The Convention aimed to safeguard and oversee miners’ health and safety within mining workplaces. The responsible entities were the governments and employers of countries that ratified the Convention. On June 22nd, 1995, the ILO officially adopted this agreement. ^[2]

As of June 2024, 35 nations have ratified the Convention. ^[3] The ILO holds that any nation that ratified the Convention will be legally bound by its rules. Ratifying a convention is optional, thus many prominent mining nations (including those notorious for mining incidents) have chosen not to participate.

The preamble, which laid out the need for cooperation between relevant institutions to prevent accidents or damage from mining operations, was established in 1995. ^[4]

The need for international mining regulation

Due to the hazardous conditions of the mining workplace, the Governing Body of the ILO recognized the need for a convention regarding the health and safety of miners. The ILO wanted to prevent fatalities, injuries and environmental damage as a result of mining. ^[5]

Hazards in the mining industry

Mining safety is an issue of concern, due to the numerous fatalities that occur every year. The underground nature of the workplace often exposes workers to harmful gases. Additionally, miners can become trapped during cave-ins, with the extraction and rescue process being complicated and hazardous. Cave-ins pose a risk of secondary collapses since the necessary infrastructure to support the new topography would not be in place after an initial collapse, often resulting in additional trapped miners and rescue workers. Since miners are trapped in rock pockets, the risks of explosions and oxygen deprivation are high. ^[6]

As of 2001, more than 30 million people were employed in the mining industry. Despite comprising only 1% of the world's workforce, mining accounted for over 8% of total workplace fatalities. ^[7] These statistics concerned the ILO, forcing them to hold a convention to address such issues.

Relevant pre-existing conventions

Before the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, there were numerous other conventions that were slightly relevant to health and safety in the mines such as The Safety and Health in Construction Convention and Recommendation, The Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents Convention and Recommendation, and The Medical Examination of Young Persons (Underground Work) Convention. However, despite the many conventions that were relevant, there were insufficient laws and conditions specifically laid out for miners' health and safety. Therefore, the Safety and Health in Mines Convention was created. ^[8]

The Convention

The document consists of 24 articles contained within 5 parts, preceded by a preamble.

• Preamble: Recognizes the dangerous conditions in the world's mines, and notes multiple conventions that contain relevant laws in context with miners' health and safety.
• Part 1: Definitions. One article states a clear definition for the terms miner and employer.
• Part 2: Scope and Means of Application. Four articles lay out who upholds the Convention in ratifying countries.
• Part 3: Preventative and Protective Measures At The Mine. This is divided into three sections, discussing the employers and workers duty to safety and health in mines.
  • Section A: Responsibilities of Employers. Seven articles state what the employer must do to minimize hazards and what to do in the event of one.
  • Section B: Rights And Duties of Workers and Their Representatives. Two articles discuss workers' rights and their duty to comply with safety regulations.
  • Section C: Cooperation. One article states the responsibility that miners and their employers have to work together to achieve health and safety in mines.
• Part 4: Implementation. One article discusses the government's requirement to provide inspection services and institute penalties for non-complying mines.
• Part 5: Final Provisions. Eight articles describe the legality of ratifying the Convention and how to denounce it. ^[9]

In Article 19 of Part 5, the process of denouncing the Convention is laid out. Countries are allowed to denounce the Convention only under certain circumstances. The article states that a country may denounce the Convention if they wish, only ten years after the Convention first came into force (in 1998). Therefore, from 2008, it is possible for any ratifying countries to eliminate the Convention and subsequently drop their enforcement of its laws. This would result in a major loss of support for miners' health and safety, and even basic rights. As a result, no countries have denounced the Convention yet. ^[10]

United States ratification

The 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, signed the Convention on January 5, 2001 with guidance from the Secretary of Labor, Alexis Herman. The United States was the 16th country to ratify the Convention. Its ratification of the Convention showed its international support for miners who work in hazardous conditions. ^[11]

United States mining regulation prior to the Convention

Since the Convention contains laws that are enforceable by the government, the United States would be held accountable for all of the laws contained within it. However, the United States already enforces many laws relevant to the Convention. The Department of Labor has a division applicable to miners. This division, The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is an agency that, since 1977, has a mission to promote a safe and healthy workplace for miners by preventing injury and disease. The main method of doing this is by enforcing the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, known as the Mine Act. The Mine Act sets various standards intended to reduce fatal accidents and to minimize health hazards. Having the MSHA inspect every American mine accomplishes a part of the Mine Act. In addition, the MSHA handles all accident reporting and safety issues from miners. ^[12] The disease black lung, which largely affects miners, is being addressed by the MSHA in hopes of reducing its prevalence in the United States. Similarly, the laws outlined in the Convention are aimed at lowering the number of individuals with disease obtained from the mining workplace. ^[13]

Overlap with The Mine Act

As a result of the already implemented MSHA and the Mine Act in the United States, it was not clear whether or not the Convention ratification would make a large impact in the various mining health and safety laws. A tripartite panel consisting of representatives covering American government, labor and business was held. They compared the laws from the Convention and the laws set in place by the Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977. They concluded that the Convention could be signed by the president and ratified without the introduction of any new laws. This was due to the MSHA already enforcing all of the laws stated within the Convention. ^[14]

Bill Clinton signing the Convention in 2001

Even though the ratification would not introduce any new laws, Bill Clinton signed the Convention in 2001. The reason for the ratification was a political and economic strategy. The United States had an interest in holding other countries accountable for miners' health and safety. By ratifying the Convention, the United States could reach out to other countries for failing to enforce the applicable laws, which would hold other nations accountable. ^[15] In addition, the ratification helped in making the United States mining industry more competitive in the global economy. For example, if a coal buyer is only interested in doing business with mines that had the Convention signed, whether on the basis of ethicality or legality, American mines could lose business prior to the semantic ratification.

Turkey's ratification

Soma mine disaster

At least 301 miners were killed in Soma, Turkey after an explosion sent poisonous gasses throughout the mine. More than 100 workers survived the explosion and subsequent gas but were killed as a result of the mine collapsing onto them. The backlash against the government and the mine operator was strong and negligence investigations ensued. The general manager and the operations manager were held on suspicion of neglect, which had caused numerous deaths. During the Soma disaster, a commission from the International Labor Organization was sent to discuss miners' health and safety with Turkish officials. The Turkish Labor minister, Faruk Çelik, claimed that strict laws were already in place in Turkey. In addition, Turkey claimed to be in full compliance with European Union standards and had laws even more advanced than the ILO Convention. ^[16]

IndustriALL's push for ratification

IndustriALL, a global union that represents 50 million workers from 146 countries, urged Turkey to swiftly ratify the Convention following the Soma disaster. One of their goals as a global union is to make the world's mines safer. They claim that the best way to accomplish this is by having countries ratify the Convention and fully implement the laws and safety regulations contained within it. In addition, they state that the first priority of mining is to promote the safety and well-being of miners. They also state that favoring profit first should be considered intolerable criminal behavior. ^[17]

Turkish Parliament approves the Convention

Following the Soma disaster, debates occurred in Turkey as to whether or not the government was protecting its miners from such disasters. Turkey was largely hesitant to begin ratification processes due to employer backlash of the cost to uphold the Convention's rules and regulations. In the end, the Turkish Grand National Assembly decided to formally adopt the Convention on December 4, 2014. Turkey's notice of ratification of the treaty was deposited on March 23, 2015.

However, this has not been a perfect resolution. Many employers are unable to cover the cost of the resulting changes, resulting in many mining companies reducing their workforce and closing down mines. ^[18]

Preventing black lung disease

Pneumoconiosis (black lung, miners lung) is an illness prevalent in the mining industry caused by prolonged exposure to mine dust which can lead to respiratory failure and death. From 1968 to 2009, it was a contributor or underlying cause of death for over 73,800 worker deaths in the United States.^{[ citation needed] [19]}. The United States Federal government has paid 45 billion dollars in compensation to miners and their dependents effected by the illness. Despite this, with modern safety measures pneumoconiosis is easily preventable, a properly ventilated mine equipped with modern tools presents a significantly lower risk to the contraction of the disease. ^[20] These measures, introduced following United States ratification of the Convention, has nearly eliminated Pneumoconiosis in the US. This is contrasted with China (where the convention has not been ratified), where the disease remains prevalent, with 750,000 cases reported in 2013 and a possibility of many more unreported cases due to lax mining regulations. ^[21]

Article 7 of the Convention requires employers to take measures to minimize the risk of disease. This includes having good ventilation in all locations of the mine in which miners come in contact with. The Convention also requires that the working environment is monitored for hazards that can induce disease. Finally, article 5 requires that countries publish statistics on occupational disease (included black lung). ^[22]

Issues with the Convention

The goal of the Convention is to create a standard that can be used for any ratifying nations to promote the health and safety of miners. It supports the notion for countries to create the proper agencies to regulate the safety and health of miner's and implement standards. However, many prominent mining countries have yet to ratify the Convention. In addition, many ratifying nations differ in the amount of effort put into the relevant agencies.

Currently, five developed countries dominate the mining industry. Only two of these five have ratified the Convention (the United States and Germany). A number of developing nations also have large roles in the global mining industry. Despite this, only a fraction have signed the Convention. China, the world's leading coal producer, has yet to ratify the Convention. China also has the most dangerous track record of miners' health and safety (based on the number of fatalities), and would need to make heavy changes if it were to ratify the Convention.

Apart from the countries that have not ratified it, the effectiveness of the Convention relies on the strictness of the government. The ratifying nations are ultimately responsible for creating the relevant agencies and enforcing the standards laid out in the Convention. ^[23]

European Union strengthening of the Convention

In 2008, the European Commission released a Recommendation for all EU members to ratify recent conventions from the ILO, including Convention 176. Similar to the United States, many EU member States have laws already in place that would match or in some cases surpass the laws laid out in the Convention. However, the Recommendations laid out by the Commission did not just ask for the ratification of the various conventions. The Commission recognized the notion that governments can ratify, yet not enforce the Convention fully. Therefore, it asked for the conventions rules to be strengthened and made certain that a supervisory system was in place to monitor the effectiveness of the conventions enforcement. The Recommendation was released despite opposition from some EU nations claiming that the funding to the ILO should be lowered or in some cases dropped. ^[24]

Ukrainian project related to the Convention

The ILO project in Ukraine was implemented between 1 May 2017 and 31 March 2020. It aim to increase mine safety and the health of miners by introducing and enhancing modern occupational safety and health ( OSH) policies. Given its policy implications, the project has increased the social partners' awareness of the need to take steps to improve occupational safety, to prevent work accidents and to fully implement health protection measures. ^[25]

Ratifications

As of November 2022, 34 countries have ratified the convention.

Country	Ratification date	Status
Albania	March 3, 2003	ratified
Armenia	April 27, 1999	ratified
Austria	May 26, 1999	ratified
Belarus	February 13, 2020	ratified
Belgium	October 2, 2012	ratified
Bosnia and Herzegovina	January 18, 2010	ratified
Botswana	June 5, 1997	ratified
Brazil	May 18, 2006	ratified
Czech Republic	October 9, 2000	ratified
Finland	June 9, 1997	ratified
Germany	September 6, 1998	ratified
Guinea	April 25, 2017	ratified
Ireland	June 9, 1998	ratified
Lebanon	February 23, 2000	ratified
Luxembourg	April 8, 2008	ratified
Mongolia	November 26, 2015	ratified
Morocco	June 4, 2013	ratified
Mozambique	June 14, 2018	ratified
Norway	June 11, 1999	ratified
Peru	June 19, 2008	ratified
Philippines	February 27, 1998	ratified
Poland	June 25, 2001	ratified
Portugal	March 25, 2002	ratified
Russia	July 19, 2013	ratified
Slovakia	June 3, 1998	ratified
South Africa	June 9, 2000	ratified
Spain	May 22, 1997	ratified
Sweden	June 9, 1997	ratified
Turkey	March 23, 2015	ratified
Ukraine	June 15, 2011	ratified
United States	February 9, 2001	ratified
Uruguay	June 5, 2014	ratified
Zambia	January 4, 1999	ratified
Zimbabwe	April 9, 2003	ratified

External links

• Text.
• Ratifications.

References