Quebec Miners Demand Public Health Guidelines Are Respected as Mining ResumesOn April 13, the Government of Quebec announced that mining activities, which have been halted across Quebec since March 25 because of the COVID-19 pandemic, would gradually resume as of April 15. Workers' Forum recently spoke with André Racicot, President of United Steelworkers (USW) Local 9291 about the conditions under which the resumption of activities will take place and the role of workers to ensure that it is done in full respect of workers' health and safety. USW Local 9291 represents, among others, workers at Iamgold's Westwood Mine in Preissac, Abitibi-Témiscamingue. André is a specialist in health and safety issues in the mining sector. Workers' Forum: How are the preparations going for the resumption of mining operations at the Westwood mine?
As regards transport vehicles in the mine, they are being cleaned and disinfected regularly and no more than two workers can be transported at a time. The driver is at the wheel and the other worker sits in the back seat on the right side. In the transport vans, the two-metre distance between workers is respected. For the underground shelters, the dining rooms, for example, have been disinfected and for each meal the cleaning staff has been increased. Meal times are organized so that there are not too many people in the dining rooms at the same time and the two-metre distance is respected. Work schedules have been modified to allow for a gradual entry into the mine, not everyone together. Workers are required to wash their hands for 20 seconds on a regular basis. Public Health guidelines are being followed. Each department has developed protocols for cases where they are unable to maintain the two-metre distance. For example, in the case of mechanics, when they have a task such as repairing a pump, it takes two workers to do the task. In that case they will have to wear masks to prevent the spread of the virus to their co-workers. We will have N95 masks and surgical masks. We also have masks that are normally used underground, and these are also effective in preventing the spread of droplets. We have taken inventory at the emergency health committee to ensure that there will not be a shortage of masks. There is a real change that has been made to ensure that the work schedules and the return to work protocol allow for health standards to be put in place. It has not been easy, but we can see that there is a real willingness on everyone's part to take charge. WF: Has mining per se resumed? AR: It is in the process of restarting. The first people who have been recalled are the mechanics at the plant who work on a crusher. As far as I know, there are teams of mobile mechanics who are starting to return to work. The actual mining operations are going to start around April 25, I believe. Each person is going to be called in and they're going to get a health standards briefing, because this represents a 180-degree change. In order to assimilate this information and apply it, everybody's going to have to do their share. To make sure that the mining of the ore is really going to work properly, I think it's going to take until late April or early May. WF: Will the guidelines you spoke about be the same throughout the mining sector in Quebec? AR: As far as I know, with the information I have, it seems that these guidelines will apply throughout Quebec. How it works is that the Quebec Mining Association (QMA) gives the guidelines to its members. Generally, members follow these guidelines. There are small variations, but overall these are the guidelines that are followed throughout Quebec. WF: How do you see the role of workers in this process of resuming operations? AR: Our role is to ensure that safety and health standards are enforced. We have a role to play in identifying, controlling and eliminating risks. Our role is to prevent the spread of this disease. We don't want any worker to be infected. We don't want the pandemic to enter the company. We care about our families and loved ones, about not infecting them. We believe that not only is it dangerous for members, but it is bad for the industry because Public Health can stop the activity of a mine if the standards are not met. I appreciate the company's willingness to put guidelines in place that are good, but it remains to be seen how that will be applied in the field. That is what it all comes down to. We're going to focus all our efforts on monitoring and identifying problems. We have to make sure that the guidelines are respected. There may be all sorts of reasons that they are not respected -- there may be administrative pressures, or there may be a problem adapting to change, or instructions that are not being followed, so we will keep an eye on everything. We are putting our union structure into action. As far as I'm concerned, I'm assigned to tele-work and there are union officers who work at the mine to report on the application of safety and health standards. I dispatch the prevention representative to check how things are actually working at the mine. He has been trained to do that and he has clear guidelines for reporting on a daily basis. He is working 40 hours a week exclusively on prevention, checking all aspects of health and safety and health standards, including those provided by the Labour Standards, Pay Equity and Workplace Health and Safety Board (CNESST). I went to the mine twice recently. I did a simulation on how the return to work is going to be done. I saw some shortcomings, especially with regard to hand washing, where we must ensure that the worker uses the 20 seconds needed to wash his hands properly. WF: Would you like to say something in conclusion? AR: We agree to go back to work, but not at any cost. We want to make sure that our workers are well protected so as to protect their families and loved ones. It is in our best interest to follow the guidelines of Public Health.
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André
Racicot: With regard to the resumption of work
in the mining sector, we have been working hard with the employer to
put in place the best health standards for the workers, to ensure that
they are protected from becoming infected with the virus. A number of
protocols have been put in place regarding cleanup and actions
in the workplace, including respecting the two-metre distance between
workers. There was a problem that needed to be resolved with regard to
the mining cage that carries the workers underground. Separators were
put in the cage and the number of people that can be carried at a time
is limited. Before, we could put 25 people in the cage, but now
we are reducing the number by half. Workers are not allowed to talk in
the cage and they have to face the wall, and are separated by curtains.
The curtains and the cage are completely disinfected after each shift.