A Life of Toil

Coal might be a handy fuel for many but it fails to bring any warmth to miners’ lives

QUETTA: Sher Gul Khan, 54, hails from Shangla district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. He has been working in a coal mine at Spin Kariz area of Quetta for the last ten years.  According to Sher Gul, a coal miner’s life in Balochistan is a difficult one.

“We are underpaid laborers who are not provided any facility, protective gears, physical and social security and free health treatment in case of an accident or disease,” he said.

“When we descend into a mine – hundreds of feet below the ground – to dig out the coal, we do not know whether we will see the light of day again,” Sher added.

Haji Muhammad Ali Changezi hails from Mach. His family has been associated with mining for five generations and now also owns some mines.

Changezi said miners expose themselves to perils when they descend into mines without modern protective equipment. “Sometimes dangerous gases gather inside these mines which cause deadly explosions and sometimes trolleys fell on worker due to mechanical failures,” he said

The coal mines in Pakistan in general and Balochistan in particular continually collapse due to shifting soil, large number of mining holes and accidental blasts.

Last week – on December 3 – at least six workers lost their lives in the Shahrag area of Balochistan’s Harnai district when a portion of a mine collapsed after a gas explosion.

This year, on February 5, five coal miners died and as many sustained serious injuries when a massive explosion rocked a coal mine in Saragarhi area in the outskirts of Balochistan’s provincial capital.

According to an assessment made by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), around 170 miners died in Pakistan in 2021 with the majority of deaths taking place in Balochistan.

Changezi revealed that most of the miners are Afghan refugees who do not have identity cards. These miners, he said, cannot get financial compensation in case of accidents due to lack of proper documents.

“In case of an accident, a contractor is supposed to pay an injured miner his wages until he recovers along with providing him medical treatment. However, contractors usually do not comply with this rule.Many contractors do not get their laborers registered which is highly inappropriate.”

He said people associated with mining business have also suffered due to the recent floods as roads in a number of areas have washed away and people have to rely on rainwater which causes diseases.

“Around 100-150 laborers of this area contracted various diseases including diarrhea due to unclean water. The Labor Welfare Board is responsible for establishing dispensaries at coal mines but either there are no such dispensaries or they have no medicines.”

Changezi said law and order is also an issue.  “The FC [Frontier Corps] has set up some check posts for the security of mines but the government should make a comprehensive arrangement.

He said there are three departments which are supposed to facilitate the mining sector and miners. Things can improve a great deal if these departments do their job properly.”

According to some estimates, there are more than 200,000 people working in over 6,500 legal and illegal mines across Balochistan, a mineral rich but backward province which comprises over 40% of the country’s territory.

Fateh Shah Arif, the secretary general of the Pakistan Mines and Minerals Association, also owns some coal mines. Arif believes that not only miners but mine owners also face numerous problems.

“In Balochistan, the biggest issue is law and order.  The authorities must provide security to mines and the roads leading to them; as without security we cannot provide any facility to miners.”

He said the mining industry is developed by individual entrepreneurs without any government support.

“An investment of two Rs20 million is required to develop a mine. The government must declare mining as an industry at the official level so that it can get loans from financial institutions. We need financial support to develop the mineral industry,” he said.

Arif claimed that despite all difficulties mine owners are playing their role in providing health, education and other facilities to miners.

“It is the responsibility of government institutions to work for the welfare of miners with the funds they receive. There is a need to establish the Workers Welfare Board schools or education department schools for children of miners.”

He said coal mine owners regularly make contributions to welfare funds but relevant departments do not do anything on the ground.

Arif said agreed that due to harsh working conditions local people hesitate to work in mines and most of the miners in Balochistan are Afghan refugees, who form the backbone of the industry

“The government should improve the system rather than damaging it. The federal ministry should work together with the provincial government to formulate a policy [with regard to the mining industry] in consultation with mine owners.”

Mohammad Atif, senior inspector of mines, is part of the team responsible for ensuring implementation of safety measures in coal mines and surface mines. He claims that his department is performing its duty and ensuring safety of miners.

“We conduct regular inspections [of mines] in the light of the Coal Mines Regulation Act, 1926 and issue warning letters in case of violations of the law. If a mine owner does not comply with our instructions then we also take action against him under Sections 39 and 40 of the act.”

He said most mines in Balochistan are illegal. However, the department has complete data with regard to every mine including details of workers employed at them.

The official revealed that a large number of miners are elderly people.

“We do not tolerate any violation. We go to the mines and check the ventilation system. We also check the machinery and tools. We issue a notice of violation. If the mistakes are not corrected even after the notice, then the mine owner is prosecuted through court,” he said.

He said the Balochistan Department of Mines has all the facilities to deal with hazardous situations and rescue miners in the event of a mining accident.

However, Sultan Lala – the president of the Pakistan Mines Labor Federation (PMLF) – expresses dissatisfaction over the performance of rescue teams and mine inspectors.

“The rescue teams should be properly trained and equipped as right now there is a dearth of ambulances. A compensation act should be passed immediately to provide better compensation to the injured workers,” he added.

He said the PMLF, an organization working for miner’s rights, wants better wages and housing for the laborers and education for their children. “But above all we want to protect the lives of miners.”

Lala claimed that 300 miners die every year and more than 3,000 get injured in mining accidents across Pakistan. “We want the government to take practical measures to protect the lives of the laborers.”

He urged mine owners to operate their mines themselves instead of handing them over to contractors.

Habib Tahir, vice chairperson of the HRCP, said thousands of people are associated with mining in Balochistan. “Funds coming to the Mines Department are, however, not being used for the welfare of miners while most mine owners also don’t offer medical insurance to their workers,” he said.

He revealed that only 8,000 miners are registered with the Employees Old-Age Benefit Institution.

“We believe that there are around 0.2million miners in Balochistan who are not able to benefit from this facility like life insurance and pension.

“Mine owners run the mines through contractors and the contractors do not use proper equipment and ignore safety measures to save a few bucks.

“They usually do not use the best quality wood in scaffoldings inside mines.

“It is the responsibility of mine inspectors to take action against such violations. Interestingly, there are only 26 mine inspectors to inspect around 6,500 mines in the province.