Steelworkers Cannot Accept any Loosening of Health and Safety Standards for Mine Workers
- Interview, André Racicot, President, United Steelworkers Local 9291
in Abitibi, Quebec -
Workers' Forum: What are the most
recent
developments in your work in defence of the
health and safety of mine
workers within the context of COVID-19?[1]
André Racicot: Our constant
concern
is the application of health standards in the
field to ensure that
workers do not contract and spread COVID-19. In
this regard, the union
has asked the employer to release another
full-time prevention
representative, strictly to ensure the
application of health standards,
especially those related
to the pandemic.
To give you an example, we have to ensure that
underground equipment is disinfected. I'm
referring here to mobile
equipment, haul trucks, scoop trams, etc. The
people who enter each
shift must disinfect the equipment to avoid
possible contamination. A
home-made recipe was used at the beginning, a
solution that included
bleach to disinfect
the equipment. This was done because Purell was
difficult to find on
the market because of high demand. However as a
disinfectant, a bleach
solution is only effective for a day, as it
evaporates very quickly.
For the employer, it was a convenient solution
as it is inexpensive and
there's no need to find a supplier to get the
product. We went into
the field to see how it was done, did research,
did our job as
prevention representatives. We then asked the
employer to stop using
this type of disinfectant and provide a real
one, and they agreed. Had
they refused, we would have filed a complaint
with the CNESST (Labour
Standards, Pay Equity and Workplace Health and
Safety Board).
We must guard against loosening health
standards and
regulations, especially if we are moving towards
a second wave.
Maintaining the two-metre distance, washing
hands, disinfecting common
tools, disinfecting the separators that were put
in the personnel
transport jeeps, etc. The employer did its job
in reopening the mine,
however if no
action is taken by the union, if norms aren't
checked, a loosening of
standards sets in. We must ensure that these
health standards become a
way of life for workers. We have to do a lot of
work on the ground with
workers to raise their awareness and call them
back to order when
needed. We must get the opinions of the workers
at all times. No
one knows the work better than those who do it.
We have a duty as a
society, and we also have a duty as a union to
look after the
well-being of our members and to make sure they
do not get sick and
spread the disease in their homes or in the
community.
We are going to be stuck with the pandemic for
a long
period of time. We are probably going to have a
second wave, so we must
be prepared to deal with it. There have to be
high standards in place,
not just in writing, but on the ground.
The employer's priority remains to get as much
ore out
as possible, and it's the productivity side
that's paramount for them.
This is especially the case right now with the price of gold
being very high and with
the Canadian dollar at around 70 cents in
relation to the U.S. dollar,
as gold trades in U.S. dollars. With the
depreciation of the Canadian
dollar,
employers are seeing their profits rise.
In Abitibi, I'm convinced that we're going to
see a
series of mines opening, particularly surface
mines that are cheaper to
operate than an underground mine and that can be
profitable with a
lower gold grade than for an underground mine.
Right here at Westwood,
in addition to the underground mine, the company
has started operating
an open
pit not far from here. The potential for them to
make more money out of
the gold is very strong. There are more and more
small mining companies
that want to start mining sites and the big
companies are looking at
this and are going to take them over, which is
how it works.
The issue of health and safety then becomes
increasingly
important. The pressure is going to mount to get
the ore out quickly to
be able to profit from the situation, and the
danger of accidents at
work becomes greater. As extraction increases,
they're going to resort
to the use of contractors to provide them with
labour to save on costs,
to not
have to rent machinery, etc. We want them to
give the work to our
workers, but if they hire contract workers, we
also must defend them,
as they are workers just like us. Their
conditions are part of the
working conditions in the facilities. We don't
differentiate between
them and us. Their health and safety must also
be protected.
For us, this means heightened vigilance,
especially in
the midst of the pandemic crisis. We must ensure
that all workers go
home at night with all their limbs and not be
infected with COVID-19.
To do that, we must educate workers, train them,
be on site, make sure
that workers understand why these health
measures are put in place.
Note
1. See "Quebec
Miners
Demand Public Health Guidelines Are Respected
as Mining
Resumes," Interview, André Racicot, President,
USW Local 9291,
Abitibi, Workers' Forum, April 23,
2020
This article was published in
Number 43 - June 23, 2020
Article Link:
Steelworkers Cannot Accept any Loosening of Health and Safety Standards for Mine Workers >
Website: www.cpcml.ca
Email: editor@cpcml.ca
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