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Mining Labour Issues and History – Sudbury and Global

Criminal charges possible [Vale mining deaths] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 2, 2012)

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

Greater Sudbury Police Service has completed its investigation into the June 8, 2011, deaths of two men at Vale’s Stobie Mine, and the results are in the hands of officials with the Crown attorney’s office in Sudbury.

At this point, no determination has been made on whether criminal charges will be laid in the deaths of Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, said Greater Sudbury deputy police chief Al Lekun.

Police conducted a joint investigation with the Ontario Ministry of Labour, which this week announced nine charges against Vale and six against one of its supervisors under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. First appearances on those provincial charges are set for Aug. 14.

Lekun said police conducted a coroner’s investigation, which is mandatory in workplace deaths such as these. Chenier and Fram were overcome by a run or 350 tons of muck while working at the 3,000- foot level of Stobie Mine.

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Steelworkers renew call for safety inquiry- Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 1, 2012)

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

United Steelworkers Local 6500 won’t wait years to improve mine safety while charges laid under the Occupational Health and Safety Act against Vale and one of its employees are heard in court and a mandatory inquest is held into the deaths of two members.

The union is continuing its campaign to convince the Ontario Ministry of Labour to call a public inquiry into the June 8, 2011, deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram — and into mine safety, generally, in Ontario.

Nine charges laid Thursday against Vale and six against a supervisor fall short of the “urgent, comprehensive action” needed to prevent more mine deaths in Ontario, says USW Local 6500 President Rick Bertrand.

“We can’t stop here,” Bertrand said. “We have to continue to push to get this public inquiry … let’s get some answers about why people are getting killed underground.”

Bertrand and his union have been in contact with the Fram and Chenier families and they support the call for an inquiry, said Bertrand.

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Vale charged [mining deaths] – Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – June 1, 2012)

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

Company, employee allegedly failed to take precautions in deaths of two workers

The Ontario Ministry of Labour laid nine charges against Vale Ltd. and six against one of its employees Thursday in the June 8, 2011, deaths of two miners.

Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, died when they were overcome by a run of muck from the No. 7 ore pass of Stobie Mine, while working at the 3,000-foot level of the 112- year-old mine.

The ministry had one year to complete its investigation and lay charges under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. It did so eight days before the deadline — and the first-year anniversary of the fatal accident.

Among the charges, the ministry alleges Vale failed to take reasonable precautions to prevent the movement of material through an ore pass while haza rd o u s conditions existed, failed to ensure a transfer gate to an ore pass could be operated and monitored from a safe distance, failed to maintain drain holes at the 2,400 level of the mine, and failed to ensure water, slime and other wet material wasn’t dumped in the No. 7 ore pass at the 3,000-foot level where the men were working.

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NEWS RELEASE: VALE STATEMENT REGARDING CHARGES UNDER THE ONTARIO OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY ACT STEMMING FROM THE FATALITIES AT STOBIE MINE IN JUNE 2011

For Immediate Release

SUDBURY, May 31, 2012 – Vale today released the following statement regarding charges issued by the Ontario Ministry of Labour this afternoon under the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act. The charges stem from the Ministry’s investigation into the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram at Stobie Mine in June 2011.

“We have received and are in the process of reviewing the charges served by the Ministry of Labour stemming from the tragic deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram in June 2011. Vale has been charged with nine counts and a staff employee has been charged with six counts under the Act.

As this is a very serious matter, we need to consider the charges very carefully before we determine how we will proceed. Until that time, and as this is now before the court system, we will not be commenting further on this matter.

Our own investigation concluded that there were a number of factors contributing to the tragic deaths of Jason and Jordan.

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Inquiry needed into mining practices – by Gerry Lougheed Jr. (Sudbury Star – May 19, 2012)

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

John Donne wrote “Every man’s death diminishes me — for I am involved with mankind and therefore do not send to know for whom the bell tolls — it tolls for thee.”

On June 8 last year, the funeral bell tolled telling us that Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram were killed at Stobie Mine. We were a diminished people. No one should go to work with a lunch bag and leave work in a body bag. The tragedy not only took two lives, but it altered permanently the lives of the people who loved and lived with Jason and Jordan.

April 28 is Worker’s Memorial Day. The day’s motto is “Mourn the Dead and Fight for the Living.” I was asked to speak at the ceremony organized by the local Steelworkers to provide a better context and commitment to the motto’s “mourning” and “fighting”. As a funeral director for more than 30 years, I understand the “mourning.” It is a journey often difficult with many pitfalls and pit stops to vent normal feelings and find new directions.

In an effort to express the mourning of a mine accident, I contacted a woman whose husband was killed and whose name would be commemorated at the ceremony. I asked her if she could speak at the gathering, what she would say. What did our community need to hear? She said she would think about it and call me back. She did. She explained she wrote a letter to her deceased husband. This is what it said …

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NEWS RELEASE: United Steelworkers Welcome Announcement of New Smelter in Sudbury

TORONTO, May 9, 2012 /CNW/ – The United Steelworkers union (USW) welcomes today’s announcement by Cliffs Natural Resources that they will be constructing a new smelter in Sudbury, Ontario.
 
“This project and its spin-offs will provide a much-needed boost to the hard-working families of Sudbury and Northern Ontario,” said USW International President Leo W. Gerard.
 
“Thousands of jobs will be created during development of the Sudbury smelter, the chromite mine and concentrating plant in northwestern Ontario and all the related infrastructure,” Gerard said. “Once operations begin, hundreds of family-supporting jobs will be maintained in the North for many years.”
 
“Today’s announcement will bring jobs and economic benefits to Northern Ontario, and that must include First Nations communities,” noted Ken Neumann, USW National Director for Canada.

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‘Workers’ voices need to be heard’ – by Jacob Touchette (Sudbury Star – April 30, 2012)

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

Wake up, go to work, come home. Not everyone makes it to the third step. Each year, many workers never get to come home, and on April 28, Day of Mourning, those who have died or been injured on the job were remembered.

City council chambers were packed with people as they gathered to remember those who gave their lives or were injured on the job.

In Sudbury, thoughts were focused on the three families affected by the deaths of Sudbury miners Jason Chenier, Jordan Fram and Stephen Perry.

There have been an average of 240,000 injuries each year for the past 10 years, said Leo Gerard, international president of the United Steelworkers Union. “It isn’t just a mining industry issue,” he said. “It’s an issue where workers voices need to be heard.”

Gerard said that despite the efforts of unions and health and safety activists, the numbers of injuries and fatalities is “unacceptable.”

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Ceremony honours fallen workers – by Rita Poliakov (Sudbury Star – April 27, 2012)

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

Hans Brasch spent 40 years working in the mines, where every work-related fatality led to the same question. “The question always came up. Who was next?”

Brasch took his first-hand experience to St. Gabriel’s Villa of Sudbury on Thursday, where he participated in a ceremony remembering those who died in the workplace.

The event, which took place for the residents during the villa’s chapel service, comes several days before Canada’s National Day of Mourning on Saturday, which commemorates workers who have been killed or injured on the job.

Several Sudbury miners were included in the list of names read out during the villa’s ceremony, including Jason Chenier, 35, and Jordan Fram, 26, who died in Stobie mine when they were hit by a run of muck. Miners like Stephen Perry, 47, who died while working at Vale’s Coleman mine this year, were remembered during a moment of silence.

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Results to be known within weeks [Sudbury miners’ deaths] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – April 13, 2012)

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

Investigation into miners’ deaths forwarded to northern director

A report on the Ministry of Labour’s investigation into the June 8, 2011, deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram at Vale’s Stobie Mine is in the hands of the ministry’s legal services branch.

Chenier, 35, and Fram, 26, were killed when they were working in the No. 7 ore pass at the 3,000-level of the mine and were struck by a run of 350 tons of muck.

Environment Ministry spokesman Matt Blajer said the ministry has completed its investigation and forwarded its findings to its northern director and to the legal branch. Whatever action, if any, comes from that report will be known within weeks. By law, the ministry has a year to investigate on-the-job deaths and lay charges.

The ministry enforces Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act and can lay charges that result in hefty fines and imprisonment.

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More mining deaths in Timmins than any other mining city in Ontario in past five years – by By Len Gillis (Timmins Times – April 5, 2012)

http://www.timminstimes.com/

Death of Travor King was the sixth local miner killed since 2007

More mining deaths have occurred in Timmins in the past five years than anywhere else in Ontario. That information provided by the Ontario Ministry of Labour indicates that 11 workers have died in Ontario mines since 2007. Six of those deaths were in Timmins.

The most recent was the death of miner Trevor King, 26, who died Monday after being hit by a loose rock while loading explosives at the Lake Shore Gold (LSG) Timmins Mine. That was among the information released Tuesday by company officials who held an informal news conference at their Highway 101 West offices in Timmins.

“Trevor King was fatally injured while loading a development round on the 730-metre level of our Timmins Mine,” said Dan Gagnon, Lakeshore’s senior vice president of operations.

A “round’ is the series of drill holes left in the rock face in the mine tunnel after a miner has set up and drilled a pattern of holes in preparation for blasting.

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Vale says it will go to arbitration in case of fired strikers – by Star Staff (Sudbury star – March 2, 2012)

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

A Vale official says the company will “move forward” with arbitration in the case of eight fired production and maintenance workers, as directed by the Ontario Labour Relations Board last week.

A Vale spokeswoman, Angie Robson, says the company has taken United Steelworkers’ request for a month of mediation before arbitration “under advisement.” The labour board ruled the fate of eight Steelworkers fired during the union’s yearlong strike against Vale should be decided by just cause arbitration.

Vale had insisted for two years it had the right to fire the eight for bad behaviour on picket lines and in the community. John Pollesel, chief operating officer for Vale, wrote a letter to USW Local 6500 members this week saying the company acknowledged the labour board’s decision and would agree to arbitration.

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Still no comment [from Ontario Government/Vale Sudbury deaths] – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 2, 2012)

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

Labour Minister Linda Jeffrey appreciates the work United Steelworkers has done to uncover the causes of an accident at Vale’s Stobie Mine last year that took the lives of supervisor Jason Chenier, 35, and miner Jordan Fram, 26.

But she won’t be able to comment on the report’s three top recommendations — two of which pertain to her ministry — until the ministry completes its investigation into the June 8, 2011, fatality.

USW has called for the Government of Ontario to establish a public inquiry into the causes of the Stobie deaths, with special attention to water management, monitoring and enforcement issues.

Chenier and Fram died when they were overcome by a run of muck from the No. 7 ore pass while working at the 3,000-foot level of the 111- year-old mine. The union believes excess water contributed to treacherous working conditions, as well as clogged drainage holes and other factors.

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Call for inquiry [Vale mining deaths] premature: Bartolucci – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 1, 2012)

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

For the full report: Run of “Wet Muck” Double Fatality Investigation Report by USW Local 6500

Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci says it may be premature to call for a public inquiry into the deaths of two Sudbury miners before the Ministry of Labour completes its investigation of the fatality and a mandatory coroner’s inquest is held.

Bartolucci said he is looking forward to reading the USW report and its recommendations. “Listen, just like Vale’s recommendations, I want to read and study the Steelworkers’ recommendations.

“At the end of the day, we don’t want anybody dying” at work, said Bartolucci. “Two families lost loved ones. That’s serious. And we have to do what we have to do to ensure we take every possible precaution to ensure that that doesn’t happen again.”

Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram were killed June 8, 2011, by a run of muck at Vale’s Stobie Mine.

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Report will make mining safer: [Sudbury] union – by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 1, 2012)

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

For the full report: Run of “Wet Muck” Double Fatality Investigation Report by USW Local 6500

There has been a lot of talk about Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram since they were killed on the job June 8, 2011, at Stobie Mine. Wednesday morning, Mike Bond wasn’t talking about the men. He was speaking for them and their families.

Bond, the Health, Safety and Environment chair for United Steelworkers Local 6500, local president Rick Bertrand and USW lawyer Brian Shell presented findings of the union’s investigation into the men’s deaths to reporters.

“Today’s the day we’re speaking for the Frams and the Cheniers, and miners across the province. It’s a tragic day also,” said Bond, a former Creighton miner.

“I feel that, with our recommendations, we are going to make (mining) safer.” Bond has been involved in several investigations, but never one like this. “This is a one-of-a-kind report,” he said.

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Scathing report [2011 Vale miner deaths]- by Carol Mulligan (Sudbury Star – March 1, 2012)

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

For the full report: Run of “Wet Muck” Double Fatality Investigation Report by USW Local 6500

United Steelworkers is calling on the province to take “swift action” on three key recommendations in the union’s eight-month, 200page report on their investigation into the mining deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram.

Wednesday, the union released its findings — 165 recommendations in all — relating to the June 8, 2011, deaths of Chenier and Fram at Vale Ltd.’s Stobie Mine.

The union presented a scathing report to reporters at news conferences in Sudbury at the Steelworkers Hall and in Toronto at Queen’s Park.

The union is calling on the assistant deputy attorney general to take immediate steps to determine whether criminal charges should be laid against Vale and some of its employees under the Westray provisions of the Criminal Code of Canada.

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