Mining Labour Issues and History – Sudbury and Global – Page 10

No inquiry into mining safety: Ministry – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – December 4, 2013)

December 4, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The Ministry of Labour has rejected a call from mining advocates in Sudbury and the North to hold a public inquiry into mining safety, opting instead for a comprehensive review of mining safety in Ontario.

United Steelworkers Local 6500 and a lobby group called MINES (Mining Inquiry Needs Everyone’s Support) will hold a news conference Wednesday to respond to the province’s plan for the review.

USW Local 6500, and later MINES, began calling for a full-blown inquiry in February 2012 after the union’s eight-month investigation in the June 8, 2011, deaths of two men at Vale’s Stobie Mine.

The 200-page report into how Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died contained 165 recommendations, including that an inquiry be held to update mining safety practices. That recommendation prompted the formation of MINES, led by Fram’s mother Wendy Fram, which championed the drive for the inquiry.

10 safety charges laid in fatal mine accident – by Kevin Rollason (Winnipeg Free Press – November 18, 2013)

November 18, 2013

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/

Vale Canada took corrective action

VALE Canada Ltd. has been charged with 10 offences under the province’s Workplace Safety and Health Act in a mining accident that killed a Thompson miner in 2011. The charges, laid last month, include allegations that Vale did not provide a safe workplace, did not have safe work procedures and had unsafe equipment.

Murray Nychyporuk, president of United Steelworkers Local 6166, said Friday it’s the first time the mine has been charged in connection with the death of a worker.

“It’s a strong message from the (province) to industry throughout Manitoba, not just Vale, that operations and companies need to provide safe working conditions,” Nychyporuk said.

“Corrective actions did take place following the incident, but we had to lose a friend, a brother, a father and a son, all for corrective measures to be put in place.”

South African mine strikes doing little to lift platinum – by Jan Harvey (Reuters – November 1, 2013)

November 1, 2013

http://ca.news.yahoo.com/

LONDON (Reuters) – Given that South Africa is the source of 75 percent of the world’s platinum supply, the fact that prices have responded so little to strike action there this year has surprised investors.

Prices barely reacted to news on Thursday that the hardline AMCU union had declared a wage dispute with Lonmin, raising the possibility of an industry-wide strike that could hit half of global output.

Five years ago, the threat of production cuts in South Africa was the primary force driving platinum prices to record highs at $2,290 an ounce. But times have changed. Even after last year’s deadly wildcat strikes, when more than 50 people were killed in the platinum sector, prices rose only briefly. The following quarter, they fell nearly 15 percent.

Earlier this year, a two-week strike at major producers Anglo American Platinum, which the company said cost it 44,000 ounces of lost output, was accompanied by a 2 percent drop in platinum prices.

Accent: Families press for mine safety inquiry – by Jonathan Migneault (Sudbury Star – October 26, 2013)

October 28, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Briana Fram misses being able to call her brother Jordan. On June 8, 2011, Jordan Fram, 26, and Jason Chenier, 35, were killed in Vale’s Stobie Mine when they were crushed by a 350-ton run of muck while working at the 3,000-foot level of the mine.

Briana was only 18 months younger than her brother. “It was a very close relationship that we had,” she told The Sudbury Star.

Since his death, she has gone to many of his friends’ weddings. “At every wedding there’s a picture of him standing there,” she said. “We always do a cheers to him. It never feels like the circle is complete, because he’s missing.”

On Monday, Sept. 16, Vale Canada pleaded guilty to three charges — linked to the deaths of Fram and Chenier — under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company was fined $350,000 on each charge, plus a 25% surcharge. Crown attorney Wes Wilson said it was the largest fine ever levied under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act. Six other charges were dropped, as were charges against a mine official.

Platinum Group suffers funding setback at South Africa mine – by Geoffrey York (Globe and Mail – October 23, 2013)

October 23, 2013

The Globe and Mail is Canada’s national newspaper with the second largest broadsheet circulation in the country. It has enormous influence on Canada’s political and business elite.

JOHANNESBURG — In a mining sector struggling with a toxic combination of rising costs, falling prices and labour unrest, Vancouver-based Platinum Group Metals Ltd. believed it could buck the trend.

That dream has now taken a serious hit, with one of its partners abruptly pulling out of its $506-million platinum mining project in South Africa. It’s just the latest blow to the slumping platinum industry, beset by labour violence and soaring costs, although the Vancouver company is optimistic that it can keep its plans alive.

About half of the platinum companies in South Africa – the world’s biggest platinum producer – are estimated to be losing money, industry officials say.

Platinum Group president Michael Jones says his company will try to find new financing to push ahead with its mine in the western limb of the Bushveld complex in South Africa, despite the loss of $21.8-million in planned funding from its partner, Wesizwe Platinum, which holds 26 per cent of the project.

Silicosis claims and the gold mines: To settle or not? – by Sarah Evans (Mail and Guardian – October 1, 2013)

October 1, 2013

http://mg.co.za/ [South Africa]

A recent settlement between miners and Anglo American could be a precedent as the gold industry prepares for a looming silicosis class action suit.

Despite being a landmark case, the confidential nature of a recent settlement between Anglo American and silicosis sufferers means there is little legal precedent for future cases, at least in terms of financial compensation.

But the agreement has other implications: as the number of silicosis damages claims against the gold mining industry piles up, and in the face of a looming class action suit, out-of-court settlements could become the norm as mining companies try to avoid bank-breaking court rulings.

In the weeks to follow, the high court in Johannesburg will decide whether to collate three class action claims against 30 of South Africa’s gold mines.

This comes on the back of a landmark settlement between Anglo American and 23 silicosis sufferers, seven of whom died waiting for the case to be finalised. Their claim was instituted in 2004 and was due to go to arbitration in 2014.

Will silicosis be SA gold’s next big trial? – by Geoff Candy (Mineweb.com – September 26, 2013)

September 27, 2013

http://www.mineweb.com/

Wage negotiations may have concluded but South Africa’s gold sector still faces a number of challenges, not least of which is a looming class action suit.

GRONINGEN (MINEWEB) – Having only barely dispensed with the plummeting gold price, increasingly demanding shareholders and some of the tensest wage negotiations in memory, the South Africa’s gold producers were probably hoping for a little respite. But, instead, find themselves staring at the looming presence of a silicosis class action suit that seems to be growing inexorably larger with each passing month.

Right now, there are three separate class action matters pending against the country’s gold miners but, the three teams of lawyers have just applied to the courts to consolidate these various claims into a single one that will be defended by 31 companies, which include all of the country’s gold miners and their various operating entities as well as Anglo American South Africa and African Rainbow Minerals, who no longer operate gold mines but did so when some of the claimants contracted the lung disease in question.

It should be noted that Anglo American SA announced yesterday it has just settled 23 silicosis claims brought against it for an undisclosed sum and no admission of liability.

The floodgates open: Anglo-American settles mineworkers’ silicosis claims – by Rebecca Davis (Daily Maverick/South Africa – September 26, 2013)

September 26, 2013

http://www.dailymaverick.co.za/

On Wednesday it was announced that Anglo-American South Africa would pay 23 former mineworkers undisclosed amounts to settle claims brought against the company after the workers contracted silicosis. The mining house remains adamant that this is not an admission of liability. But lawyers for the mineworkers are hopeful that the settlement may pave the way for payouts for silicosis victims across the industry.

Silicosis is a lung disorder caused by inhaling bits of silica, a mineral found in sand and rocks, over an extended period of time. Silica dust particles can make tiny cuts on the lungs, creating scar tissue which makes it more difficult to breathe. It’s a progressive condition, and sometimes it can come on up to ten years after exposure to silica. People who are most at risk for developing the condition are those who work with sand, rock or quartz, in industries like construction, demolition, or mining.

The South African government has recognised the problem of silicosis and committed to “significantly” reducing its prevalence by 2015 and eliminating it entirely by 2030. It’s a particular public health issue in South Africa because exposure to silica dust increases the risk of TB.

Anglo American SA reaches settlement with silicosis-stricken miners – by Agency Staff (Business Day – September 25, 2013)

September 25, 2013

http://www.bdlive.co.za/

A SETTLEMENT between Anglo American South Africa and former miners who had contracted silicosis while working for the company benefited all parties, the company said on Wednesday.

“Anglo American South Africa announces that it has concluded an agreement which resolves fully and finally 23 stand-alone silicosis claims, instituted against it between 2004 and 2009,” the company said in a statement. “The settlement has been reached without admission of liability by Anglo American South Africa and the terms of the agreement remain confidential.”

The case was brought by 23 miners, 18 of whom had worked at Anglo’s President Steyn mine in the Free State. They claimed they contracted silicosis and silico-tuberculosis while working for the company up to 1998.

Anglo American South Africa executive director Khanyisile Kweyama said: “Anglo American South Africa believes that agreeing to settle this long-standing litigation is in the best interests of the plaintiffs, their families, Anglo American South Africa and its wider stakeholders.

Vale fine should go to families, Steelworkers prez says – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – September 24, 2013)

September 25, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The $1,050,000 fine imposed by the courts on Vale last week in the 2011 deaths of two miners should be directed to their families, said Steelworkers Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand.

Vale will be paying the fine to the City of Greater Sudbury. That’s because the company was charged and pleaded guilty to three offences under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, which are tried in Provincial Offences Court.

Provincial offences were downloaded to the city in 2001, and as such, any fines meted out by the courts are paid to the city.

Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, were killed June 8, 2011 after they were buried by an uncontrolled released of muck, sand and water from an ore pass at the 3,000-foot level.

“With the $1 million that’s going to be coming to the city, the first thing that goes through my mind is that the families should be compensated somehow,” said Bertrand, whose union represents Vale miners.

PoV: $1-million fine should not be placed in general revenues – by Brian MacLeod (Sudbury Star – September 21, 2013)

September 24, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Whatever happens to the $1,050,000 million fine levied against Vale Canada after the deaths of two Sudbury miners in June 2011, it should not go into the city’s general revenues.

That would be an abomination.

Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died after they were struck by a run of muck that fell from an ore pass on the 3,000-foot level of the mine. Chenier had previously voiced concerns about excess water in the area, which may have loosened the rock.

The company faced nine charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, and a supervisor faced six more. On Tuesday, the company pleaded guilty to three charges, admitting it “failed to take reasonable precaution in preventing the movement of material through an ore pass where hazardous conditions existed.” The remaining charges were dropped, as were the charges against the supervisor.

The fine, $350,000 on each count, plus a $250,000 victims surcharge, is believed to be the largest ever of its kind in Ontario. While the $250,000 will go to a provincial fund for victims of crime, the Labour ministry has indicated the $1,050,000 fine goes to the city, which plans to place the money in general revenues.

Province won’t get involved in Stobie Mine deaths – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – September 24, 2013)

September 24, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Despite demands from the Ontario Federation of Labour, unions and others, the provincial government has no plans to reopen a criminal investigation into the deaths of two Sudbury miners in 2011.

The federation, which represents 54 unions and one million workers in Ontario, has reacted angrily to $1 million fined levied against Vale in a Sudbury courtroom last for the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram on June 8, 2011.

It called on Attorney General John Gerretsen to press the Crown to lay charges and demanded that Community Safety and Correctional Services Minister Madeleine Meilleur use her powers under the Police Services Act of Ontario to impose province-wide directives and guidelines requiring criminal investigations of every workplace tragedy to determine whether employer negligence was at fault.

Greater Sudbury Police investigated Fram’s and Chenier’s deaths, but determined no criminal charges were warranted. And in an email statement to The Star, Meilleur gave no indication the provincial government plans to intervene. “This is a tragic incident and my thoughts are with the family and friends of the deceased,” she said.

Labour board rules against fired Sudbury Steelworkers – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – September 24, 2013)

September 24, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

Provincial arbitrator William Kaplan has ruled against three Steelworkers fired during the union’s year-long strike against Vale Ltd.

As a result, they won’t be getting their jobs back. USW Local 6500 president Rick Bertrand said the three men – former local vice-president Patrick Veinot, current treasurer Jason Patterson and former member Michael French – won’t be rehired by the company.

The three were dismissed in January 2010 during the union’s strike against Vale after company officials said they violated Vale’s code of conduct when an incident occurred in the community.

A striking Steelworker who crossed the picket line and went back to work was accosted by the three members. Criminal charges were laid against the three because of the incident, although Veinot and Patterson were cleared of any wrongdoing.

French was convicted and was forced to write a letter of apology to the victim. The union received the decision on the workers’ fate Friday, said Bertrand. “It’s been a tough few days.” He and his members are “all shocked, outraged and very disappointed” with Kaplan’s decision, contained in his 73-page ruling, said Bertrand.

Family has mixed feelings about Vale plea deal – by Heidi Ulrichsen (Sudbury Northern Life – September 21, 2013)

September 23, 2013

http://www.northernlife.ca/

The sister of one of two Vale miners killed on the job in 2011 said in some ways, she’s glad lawyers representing the company and the Crown were able to come to a plea deal agreement for charges laid in the wake of the tragedy.

At least it saved her family the pain and stress of going through the full trial, Briana Fram said. Vale pleaded guilty to three charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act and was fined $1,050,000 on Sept. 17 in the deaths of Briana’s brother, Jordan Fram, as well as his co-worker, Jason Chenier.

The company originally faced nine charges, while supervisor Keith Birnie faced six. The remaining charges against Vale were dropped as part of the plea deal. The charges against Birnie were dropped after the Crown received information as part of trial submissions, and felt there was no reasonable chance of conviction.

While in some ways she’s glad not to have to go through a full trial, which was due to start in late October, Briana said she would have liked to see Vale held to account on all the charges. “We are happy they pled guilty, but it’s hard, because those charges were just so easily dropped,” she said. “That’s the way the judicial system is.”

UPDATED: Vale fine to go to city [Sudbury] – by Star Staff (Sudbury Star – September 20, 2013)

September 20, 2013

The Sudbury Star is the City of Greater Sudbury’s daily newspaper.

The more than $1 million Vale Canada was fined for the deaths of two Stobie Mine employees will go to the City of Greater Sudbury, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour confirmed Thursday.

Matt Blajer said on top of the $1.050 million fine, Vale has to pony up an additional 25% — or $250,000 — which will be put into a provincial fund for victims of crime. The fine will go into the city’s general revenue stream, city spokesperson Shannon Dowling said.

On Tuesday, Vale pleaded guilty to three charges under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act for the deaths of Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26. On June 8, 2011, the men were crushed by a 350-ton run of muck at the 3,000-foot level of the mine.

The company was originally facing nine charges, while supervisor Keith Birnie faced six. Joe Cimino, a city councillor who’s also vying for the provincial NDP nomination, called the plea bargain upsetting.

“What’s happened is, now there’s more questions in the community than there are answers,” he said. “This shut a door to a public trial. We need a full inquiry now, not in 10 years. “This is so unfair to the families.”