The South African OHS Commissions. LEON - Volume 1. Report Of The Commission Of Inquiry Into Safety And Health In The Mining Industry Volume 1

Transcription

1 The South African OHS Commissions LEON - Volume Report Of The Commission Of Inquiry Into Safety And Health In The Mining Industry Volume 1 Electronic Copy By David W. Stanton PDF File Version 1.0 October 2003

2 Notes This electronic copy (Version 1.0 October 2003) of the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into Safety and Health in the Mining Industry Volume 1 (1995) has been prepared from a photocopy of the original report. The text was captured with a flat bed scanner (HP OfficeJet G85) and Optical Character Recognition Software (OmniPage Pro 12). The captured text was proofread in printed form and via text to speech. The file was exported to Microsoft Word 2002 for text and layout editing and then published as an Adobe PDF file. Care was taken to ensure that the text in this PDF file is an exact reproduction of the text in the original Commission report (some spelling errors have been corrected). The author is grateful to the DME for arranging proofreading of the electronic copy. If you spot any mistakes in this copy of the Leon Commission Report (Vol 1) please notify the contact below who will update the PDF file which is available on the Internet (Commissions section at asosh.org). The original report has text missing at the bottom of pages 28 and 30 and at the top of page 33. The text missing from pages 30 and 33 has been added (obtained from a DME retyped copy). The section number is missing on page 44. Dr. David W. Stanton Association of Societies for Occupational Safety and Health (ASOSH) and Chamber of Mines of South Africa davidws@asosh.org Web: 21 October 2003

3 COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE MINING INDUSTRY

4 Commission of Inquiry into Safety and Health in the Mining Industry TO THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA MR PRESIDENT MAY IT PLEASE YOU In consequence of a statement made by the Minister of Mineral and Energy Affairs, Mr G. Bartlett, on 28 MAY 1993, you deemed it expedient to appoint a commission of inquiry into safety and health in the mining industry, hereinafter referred to as "the Commission", consisting of the following members: RAMON NIGEL LEON MIKLOS DEZSO GYORGY SALAMON ALBERT WILLIAM DAVIES JOHN CAROL ANTHONY DAVIES and with the following terms of reference as published under Government Notice R.889 of 6 May 1994: To investigate all aspects of the legal regulation of health and safety in the mining industry as defined in the Minerals Act, 1991 (Act No 50 of 1991) To make recommendations to the State President on improvements to the existing regulations and implementation thereof in the light of the circumstances prevailing in the industry and of international standards. The Commission undertook and discharged its assigned task to the best of its ability. We, the undersigned, have the honour to present herewith the Commission's report together with its recommendations, a summary of which is given in Chapter 12. Private Bag X5 Braamfontein 2017 Fax (011) Tel (011) X 210

5 REPORT OF THE COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO SAFETY AND HEALTH IN THE MINING INDUSTRY VOLUME 1

6 COMMISSION OF INQUIRY INTO HEALTH AND SAFETY IN THE MINING INDUSTRY REPORT - VOLUME 1 CONTENTS PAGES CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION 1-8 CHAPTER 2 A REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 9-21 CHAPTER 3 MINE SAFETY HAZARDS CHAPTER 4 HEALTH AT WORK IN THE MINING INDUSTRY CHAPTER 5 CHAPTER 6 CHAPTER 7 RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE INTERESTED PARTIES 68 COMMISSION S VIEWS ON FURTHER CRITICAL ISSUES RESEARCH POLICY AND RESEARCH MANAGEMENT CHAPTER 8 THE CURRENT MINERALS ACT CHAPTER 9 ACCIDENT INQUIRIES CHAPTER 10 PROPOSED STRUCTURE OF A NEW ACT CHAPTER 11 ENFORCEMENT CHAPTER 12 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS CHAPTER 13 A MINORITY VIEW ON SOME ISSUES BY PROFESSOR M D G SALAMON Appendices List of Tables 192

7 INTRODUCTION CHAPTER ONE The members appointed to the Commission were: The Honourable Mr. Justice Ramon Nigel Leon (Chairperson) Professor Miklos Dezso Gyorgy Salamon Professor Albert William Davies Professor John Carol Anthony Davies The Terms of Reference of the Commission as stated in Government Notice Number R889 were as follows: 1.1 To investigate all aspects of the legal regulation of health and safety in the mining industry as defined in the Minerals Act 1991 (Act No 50 of 1991). 1.2 To make recommendations to the state President on improvements to the existing regulations and the implementation thereof in the light of the circumstances prevailing in the industry and of international standards Regulations governing the conduct of the Commission were established when the Commissions Act, 1947 (Act No 8 of 1947) was made applicable to the Commission by Proclamation No R78 of Mr T M Doyle, an officer in the department of Mineral and Energy Affairs was appointed Secretary to the Commission, to deal with administrative matters, and Advocate R Chinner was appointed to lead the evidence. 1.3 The terms of reference given in paragraph 1.1 and 1.2 did not precisely and accurately reflect the agreement of all parties to the Mining Industry Summit as to what the terms should be, and which were subsequently approved by the Cabinet. What had been agreed and approved was as follows. The Commission should: Investigate all aspect of the legal regulation of occupational health and safety in the mining industry of South Africa excluding the question of compensation for injury, illness and death, which was to be deferred until the inquiry into safety and health had been completed. The second inquiry was to be motivated de novo Make recommendations to the State President on improvements to the existing legislation and the implementation thereof in the light of the circumstances prevailing in the industry and of international standards The Commission should not undertake investigations into any accident or other dangerous occurrences or conditions at a particular mine occurring during the course of the Commission as such matters can be dealt with in terms of inquiries under the existing legislation. 1

8 1.3.4 In the light of ambiguities and lack of precision in the terms of reference, the Chairperson agreed to interpret the terms of reference as agreed to between the parties to the Summit, approved by the Cabinet and set forth in paragraphs to above. 1.4 A meeting was held between the Chairperson, Advocate Chinner and the Secretary Mr Doyle in Johannesburg on May 8, 1994, when it was agreed that all interested parties be invited to make written submissions to the Commission by June 15, 1994, and that written responses to these be furnished by July 7, As a result of the publicised invitation the Commission received written submissions and responses running to about pages of text. The 37 organisations and persons who made written submissions are listed in Appendix At the request of the parties to the Mining Industry Summit, the Chairperson agreed to a meeting on July 14, One of the Commissioners, Professor J C A Davies attended, but Professors Albert Davies and Miklos Salamon had not at that time arrived in the country, and the proceedings were therefore recovered, transcribed and made available to them. The parties to the Summit had requested the meeting to discuss procedural matters At the meeting the Chairperson dealt with the following issues: -SECRECY: The Chairperson stated that whatever the precise meaning and effect of Regulations 4 and 5 might be, he intended the Inquiry to proceed in an open and transparent manner and the members of the press and the public would be allowed to attend the hearings; -he would allow cross-examination of witnesses; -he proposed the hours of sitting; -he thought that it would be necessary for one or more inspections in loco to be held; -counsel for the parties or Advocate Chinner could lead the evidence. If the parties preferred it then Council could lead their evidence while Advocate Chinner could lead the evidence at the other witnesses; -it was important that a time table be prepared by the parties in consultation with Advocate Chinner and Mr Doyle In view of the fact that the Commissioners from aboard could not, for the initial hearing, stay beyond the end of August, the Chairperson proposed that: -the issues be dealt with topic by topic so that at least an interim report could be prepared; -the parties get together after the meeting to agree on matters that were common cause, matters which were in dispute and a time table. 2

9 1.5.3 At the meeting Senior Counsel for the Chamber of Mines handed in written proposals. These identified topics and expressed views on how the Commission should be conducted. These views were substantially similar to those expressed by the Chairperson, with the additional suggestion that working groups be established to discuss priorities, or to try and achieve agreement on various issues and report back to their principals. 1.6 THE HEARINGS The view was expressed that such groups could work in tandem with the work of the Commission. After discussion it was agreed the parties would endeavour to provide, before the Commission commenced its public hearings on July : -a time table on a topic by topic basis; -the issues that were in common cause; -the issues that were in dispute. The hearings commenced in the Mineralia building, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, on July and continued until August In consequence of certain matters being agreed between the parties, and by sitting long hours when necessary, the parties were able to present all the oral evidence which was found to be necessary by August The parties were represented as follows: THE NATIONAL UNION OF MINEWORKERS by Mr E Cameron SC, instructed by Mr P Benjamin, of Cheadle, Thompson and Haysom; SASOL by Mr J Viljoen; THE CHAMBER OF MINES by Mr C D A Loxton SC, with him Mr D M A Antrobus, instructed by Mr W P le Roux of Brink, Cohen, le Roux and Roodt Inc.; THE DEPARTMENT OF MINERAL AND ENERGY AFFAIRS by Mr J B Raath, Government Mining Engineer; THE CHEMICAL WORKERS UNION by Mr Richard Spoor; and THE COMMISSION by Mr R Chinner, who also led the evidence of all the witnesses other than those who were being led by the legal representatives of the parties. Mr T M Doyle acted as Secretary to the Commission Acknowledgements The Commission would like to record its great indebtedness to all the legal representatives, to the Government Mining Engineer (GME) and the Secretary, for the thorough and able manner in which they discharged their functions. 3

10 The Commission wishes to add that, not only were the hearings conducted in a manner which accords with the best traditions of the Bar, but the hearings had the effect of bringing the parties together as did the openness and transparency of the proceedings Transcript of evidence The oral evidence was recorded electronically and transcribed during the evenings and nights into 25 volumes running into about pages. The Commission wishes to record its thanks and appreciation for the way in which this work was done. The transcript of evidence is not annexed to this report, but will remain available to the public and interested parties at the offices of the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs, both at Pretoria and Johannesburg. Reference will be made to the evidence in the course of this report, and also to certain written submissions received by the Commission Witnesses who gave oral evidence Thirty-three witnesses gave oral evidence before the Commission. Their names and the capacity in which they gave their evidence are recorded in Appendix 2, together with the Volume of the Transcript and the pages where their evidence appears Exhibits handed in during evidence A large number of exhibits were handed in. The nature of the exhibits and the numbers allocated to them are detailed in Appendix 3. As with the Transcript of Evidence, these exhibits will be held at the offices of the Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs (DMEA) in their Pretoria and Johannesburg offices, where they may be examined Visits made by the Commission In addition to hearing evidence and the arguments the Commission undertook the following visits: July : Western Deep Levels South Mine: The Commission was able to descend a shaft at a large gold mine, over metres deep and see a working stope with systematic support and backfill of the extracted area. It was also able to see adult basic education facilities on the surface, listen to a presentation describing seismic monitoring arrangements at a group of mines, and visit hostel accommodation provided by the mine for black employees. July : Matla Coal Mine: The Commission was able to see two types of coal production methods used in South Africa. A continuous miner was seen operating the bord and pillar system, and the longwall system using powered supports. Both systems were operating in 4

11 thick seams. Remote environmental monitoring systems were shown on the surface, as well as some accommodation arrangements. July : The G P Badenhorst Facility: The purpose of this unit, part of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) facilities, located outside Pretoria, is for research into methane and coal dust explosions. Tests used to establish the potential of coal mine explosives to initiate explosions, and tests in the coal dust gallery were demonstrated. August : Elandsrand Gold Mining Co Ltd.: The novel methods used in an industrial theatre were seen, showing how simple play was used to demonstrate essential aspect of health, safety and industrial relations. The training centre on the surface at this mine was also seen at work. The hostels and dining arrangements at the older Blyvooruitzicht Mine were also visited on the same day. The Commission wishes to acknowledge with thanks the efforts of the many persons who helped to organise these visits, and the companies and staff at the mines and other facilities who allowed the visits to take place, and helped to make them interesting and informative. The visits assisted the Commission materially in understanding some of the problems facing the mining industry. 1.7 PREVIOUS COMMISSIONS This Commission is the first to inquire into occupational health and safety in the South African mining industry for over 30 years. No Commission with such wide ranging terms of reference to inquire into all aspects of the regulation of occupational health and safety has ever been appointed. Certain of the earlier Commissions considered similar issues to the ones that are dealt with in this report. Full notes on the early Commissions were provided by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) in their General Submissions and are to be found at Annexure 2 in Volume 1 of the submissions. In Annexure 3 of the same Volume reference is made to the Marais Commission which we later comment on briefly Earlier Commissions The Krause Commission was appointed by the Transvaal Government in 1907 under the Chairmanship of Dr. F E T Krause (later a Judge of the Supreme Court of South Africa), assisted by Dr. Porter, the Medical Officer of Health for Johannesburg, and Mr Alexander Heymann, a consulting analytical chemist. That Commission produced a draft Bill which was almost identical to the subsequently enacted Mines and Works Act of The Commission s work had the effect of extending the system which had been developed in the Transvaal for regulating mine safety to the whole of what was then the Union of South Africa. 5

12 The recommendations which the Commission made concerning the holding of inquiries were not incorporated into the 1911 Act. That Commission proposed the appointment of a special prosecutor for all mining cases, and the appointment of a single magistrate to try all such cases. Later in this report we shall consider whether there is merit in re-establishing a Mining Court Other Early Commissions A Commission was appointed in 1911 to inquire into and report upon the most practical means to be adopted for the prevention of explosions of gas and coal dust in Natal collieries. In its conclusions the Commission referred, inter alia, to the inadequacy of mining law, the importance of good relationships between the inspectorate and mine officials, the general administration of a mine and the importance of the relationship between the mine officials and the workforce. A Mining Regulation Commission reported in It had been empowered to inquire into the effect of regulations dealing with the supervision of underground working places, on the accident rate, the safety and health conditions in the mines, and the extent to which mining regulations affected good relations between employers and employees. This Commission agrees with the submission of the NUM that some of the recommendations and comments of the 1925 Commission remain apposite to the present debate. The 1925 Commission commented on the vagueness of the language of a number of regulations. It inquired into the causes of contravention of regulations, and its main conclusions can be summarised as follows: -a major factor was the growing practice of assigning to European miners too large a measure of responsibility ; -the inspectorate was understaffed, making it impossible to carry out an adequate system of inspections to assess compliance with regulations. The inspectorate relied on reports of managers and records of accidents. This resulted in disregard of regulations where observance was irksome or costly and there was little risk of contraventions being detected; Today, seventy years later, the problems of an understaffed, underpaid inspectorate remain. We will deal with this problem in Chapter 11 where we will propose a restructuring of the inspectorate. -the report criticised inspectors for not keeping management at arms length, and for failure to prosecute managers; It is of interest to record that in the evidence heard by that Commission there was reference to the inspectorate being perceived by the workers of the day as being allied to management. -the vague wording of the regulations was also considered by the 1925 Commission as a factor preventing enforcement and observance. 6

13 1.7.3 The Marais Commission On January a disaster occurred at Coalbrook Colliery in which 437 persons lost their lives when a general failure of support pillars allowed a large area of the mine to collapse. Following the disaster the then Governor General of the Union of South Africa appointed a Commission of Inquiry under the Chairmanship of the Honourable Mr Justice J F Marias. The commission was given five terms of reference but only one of them, the fourth, was dealt with in the Interim Report of the Commission produced on December No other report was published by the Marias Commission for reasons that are not known. The term of reference on which it reported reads: (4) Whether the supervision of mines exercised by the Department of Mines in terms of the said Act and regulations is adequate; if not, in what respects it should be improved in the interests of safety. The Department of Mines was the predecessor of the present Department of Mineral and Energy Affairs. We consider it to be important to make reference to the main recommendations of the Marais Commission, as some of them are in line with proposals which appears in this report. All of them refer to the problems involving the enforcement agency, to which we refer to as the Inspectorate of Mines and the vital role which it must play in health and safety in the mining industry. The principal recommendations of the Marais Commission on its fourth term of reference were that: -the status of the Government Mining Engineer should be restored to its pre-1937 level; -the salary of the GME and of all the technical officers of the Division should be adapted to the restored status level; and -the Department of Mines should be re-organised so that: -the posts of GME and Secretary for Mines are combined in one person, assisted by a Deputy Secretary; -the Division of Geological Survey forms an integral part of the GME s Division; -the Inspectors of Explosives should come under the direction of the GME; -the GME s Division should move to Pretoria; -there should be four Assistant GME s; -every effort should be made to restore the confidence of mineworkers in the competency and integrity of inspectors; -special Commissions should have a worker s representative as a fifth member. They should have prescribed procedures. Appeals to the GME should be abolished; 7

14 -the powers of inspectors to close mines or parts of mines should be circumscribed in the Act; -the GME should have a panel of experts on safety problems to help him in special enquiries into accidents; -procedures at inspector s inquiries should be simplified and achieve results; -the jurisdiction of inspector s courts should be increased, but ensure a fair hearing; -a Ministerial Commission should hear appeals from GME s decisions; -Sub Inspectors should be restricted to welfare work; -a new grade of Senior Sub Inspector should be appointed, one to each inspectorate; -mine plans should be inspected more thoroughly and frequently. Systematic inspection should be resumed; and -the Welkom inspectorate should be divided into two. We consider that it is relevant by way of background to report what was said in paragraph 29 of the Marais Commission Report: Mining is inherently dangerous both to life and health. Those who wish to extract anything from under the surface of the earth by digging a hole must be prepared to devote some of their resources to safety. It is an unnatural activity giving rise to unnatural conditions. But safety measures invariably cost money and the employer must bear its expenditure. Thus a perpetual conflict of interest arises between employer and employee as to the nature and extent of the safety measures that may be considered reasonably practical and reasonably necessary. 8

15 CHAPTER TWO A REVIEW OF THE STATE OF THE INDUSTRY 2.1 HISTORY AND ORGANISATION The Chamber of Mines (COM), and the influence of the migratory labour system which led to the establishment of compounds and hostels. The Chamber was formed over 100 yeas ago. It is a voluntary association of private sector mining finance houses, mining companies and mines. It has over 80 members drawn from South Africa s gold, coal, diamond, platinum, antimony, asbestos, maganese, lead and copper mining sections (Appendix 4). The members account for about 85% of the mineral output of South Africa. Some significant mining organisations such as SASOL remain outside the Chamber, together with a large number of small mines. The Chamber s primary function is to promote and protect the interests of its members, doing this through joint action, at industry level, in areas where it is considered by the Chamber to be economically beneficial, prudent, and desirable for members to co-operate and act in concert. The services it offers members extend over a wide range of technical, legal, medical, social and environmental issues. It operates through a range of committees on which sit representatives of the major finance houses and mining companies, and at which policy agreements are arrived at. The Commission heard evidence (Wilson pp 730/824) on the historical perspective concerning the employment of labour in South African mines. Professor Francis Wilson is an authority on this subject, being the founder Director of the South African Labour and Development Research Unit in the University of Cape Town, and the author of many books on the subject. A central feature of the gold mining industry is that there has been an oscillating migratory labour system in South Africa. Labour has been brought in on a temporary basis for a fixed period and then returned to the rural areas. In the first phase of this development, for many decades, men came for short contracts of nine to twelve months and many did not return at all, or returned only once or twice. More recently, in the second phase of this development, some 90% of mineworkers spend more than 10 years of their lives on the mines in total, but they remain migratory workers. Their position is akin to guest workers in Germany and elsewhere in Europe and the USA. This distinction is important from the point of view of training and environmental exposure to dust, radiation, noise and other contaminants. From the point of view of the worker himself, and particularly his family, he remains a migrant. He is divided in half as a human being; that is, a labour unit working at a mine, and a family man with his family in the rural areas. In the early days of South African mining, cheap housing was a way of controlling labour. As far back as 1890, when the COM was formed, mining compounds were established to control labour, and the Chamber established recruiting agencies. In these early days of the Chamber s history one of its primary functions was stated to be to reduce native wages to a reasonable level because they wanted to prevent 9

16 competition, and to find ways and means of recruiting labour. The wages paid were sufficiently high to induce people to make the long journey from their homes and serve in the dangerous and arduous mines. Accordingly a whole process of recruiting labour from all over the subcontinent was established. By 1899, black mineworkers were needed on the mines, and at that time 60% of the labour came from outside South Africa, mainly from Mozambique. At the same time the color bar was fought for by white mineworkers and the management felt obliged to go along with their demands. The COM played a specific role in putting in place the Pass Laws, which played a critical role in maintaining the migrant labour system for over 100 years. From the employer s point of view it was necessary to try to ensure a regular supply of labour at wages which the mining industry felt reasonable. The Commission was reminded by Professor Wilson of the quotation from Cecil John Rhodes when introducing the Glen Grey Act in support of an argument for a hut tax in order to obtain labour for the mines: You will remove them, the natives, from the life of sloth and laziness, you will teach them the dignity of labour, and make them contribute to the prosperity of the State and give them some good return for our wise and good government. The mining industry was locked into the migrant labour system which gave it a control over the labour force so that there was no question of strikes, which were illegal, and there was a dominance of management over labour: what mine management said went. By 1910 workers were being recruited from all over Southern Africa but far from Johannesburg itself. Certain historical events changed the picture. In April 1974 some Malawian mineworkers were killed in an air crash which caused Dr. Banda, the President of Malawi, to ban further recruiting from his country. In the same month the political coup in Lisbon spelled the end of the Portuguese empire, causing Angola and Mozambique to become independent, and not wishing to be seen as being linked to the apartheid labour system in South Africa. In one month the Chamber of Mines was faced with a loss of 50% of its labour force from Malawi and Mozambique. From then on there was a rapid increase in wages, which had already been assisted by the rapid increase in the gold price since 1971, and a rise in the influence of unions. For many years the COM expressed its opposition to the apartheid system but even today, with the apartheid system ended there exists a hangover from that system in the mining industry, where by and large black workers are at the bottom of the organisational pyramid, while white workers are further up. Job reservation for whites was formally abolished only in From the evidence heard by the Commission it was clear that certain tensions and disagreements do still exist between the Chamber and the National Union of Mineworkers and other unions. With regard to the white mineworkers union their views are dealt with later in Chapter However, there was a broad measure of agreement on the following matters between all the parties: 10

17 -the parties agreed that there was some need for legislative intervention and restructuring; and that a tripartite body should be set up to review the relations on an ongoing basis; -there should be employee participation at all levels of policy formulation and enforcement in the fields of safety and health; -there was a need for improved, better directed and more inclusive training; -there was agreement in principle regarding the right of a worker to refuse to work in unsafe conditions; and -it was agreed that great importance must be attached to the question of research and development regarding health and safety matters The Trade Unions The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) The Union is registered, as a trade union within the meaning of the Labour Relations Act No 28 of 1956, as amended. It was formed in 1982 and represent about members in the mining industry. The NUM first called for the establishment of this Commission in 1991 in discussion at the Mining Industry Summit. After investigation and lengthy discussions the COM agreed to join employee organisations in formulating proposals for the Commission in The NUM made extensive preparations following the announcement in 1993 that a Commission would be established, and submitted a wide range of papers bearing on health and safety to the Commission. The NUM is the largest recognised collective bargaining agent representing workers in the mining industry and its membership constitutes some 60% of the workforce. The NUM has always made health and safety issues a central theme of its campaign and of its negotiations with employers. Some of its efforts are described in its submission entitled A Thousand Ways to Die listed in the Appendix among the NUM submissions. Other submissions clearly demonstrate the concern and determination of the union to obtain better standards of health and safety for the workforce in the mining industry. The issues raised in these publications by the union remain relevant today. The union has offices in Johannesburg and has several regional officers in mining areas. Evidence was provided for the Commission by Mr Senzeni Zokwana, Deputy President of the NUM, which included some of his personal experiences when he was first employed as a mineworker and during his subsequent career development. He had worked at the President Steyn Gold Mine for fourteen years, and described his humiliation at the procedures that he was subjected to when he first became a miner. 11

18 He has now risen through the ranks to be a trainee shift boss, but was now required to join another Union dominated by white miners, although still a leading member of the NUM. When he first joined the NUM his relationship with his superiors became sour. Indeed he was dismissed in 1986 without a hearing and was out of work for two months. Later he was found not guilty but was demoted from August 1986 to February 1991 to the position of station marshal. Matters improved from 1991 when he returned from leave and he was offered assistance in training, and the relationship was much better today, and he had no problems being released from work to attend to union matters. Professor Wilson gave his opinion, which was not seriously challenged, that the rise of the NUM had brought about the biggest single change in the mining industry. It had introduced different priorities into the collective bargaining system, with the major priority change being with regard to family life and family housing. In the past such family housing had been strictly limited by apartheid legislation. The NUM had pushed hard for stabilisation in the sense of family housing, and this had not been a priority with the industry. As a result there is a trend towards stabilisation with some men s wives and children near enough to the mine to see each other on a more regular basis Other Unions The Chemical Workers Union has a much smaller membership in mines and represents coal mine workers in the SASOL group of mines. They were represented at the inquiry by Mr Richard Spoor. The Council of Mining Unions represents the Mineworkers Union, the Electrical Association, the Boilerworkers and Steelworkers Association, and the Amalgamated Engineering Union. The Council represents about members, nearly all white, and Mr K P Cronje testified on their behalf. Historically they have played an important rule in developing the legislative framework which formerly applied only to white workers. He made common cause with the NUM on most matters relating to health and safety. However, he agreed that some years ago his Council had tried to maintain racial discrimination and job reservation (Cronje pp ). He was concerned about the loss of discipline in the mines and believed that management had lost control of the workers. He also agreed that there were political differences between his organisation and the NUM, but Mr Zokwana testified that there was a good spirit of co-operation in mining matters between the Unions, and that the NUM met regularly with the Council. 12

19 2.1.3 The Compound/Hostel System This has an adverse effect on the health and well being of a person. Too many people living together in a small space with inadequate ventilation must inevitably increase the spread of disease. Professor Wilson considered that single sex hostels remained an aberration whether they house 90 to a room, as some of the old compounds used to do, or eight or twelve to a room as the more modern hostels do. Although the quality of life is relatively better hostels still contribute to the spread of tuberculosis and HIV related diseases. There is also stress and strain of a psychological nature involved. There is a lack of privacy and husbands are separated from their wives and children. Mr Zokwana, in his evidence, illustrated the problems of living in hostels. There was no recognition of people of differing ages nor was there any privacy. He had lived in a hostel room shared by sixteen with one person above another. This created many problems. Someone might arrive drunk and late and go out in the middle of the night to relieve a call of nature, and on returning step on his neighbour in a lower bunk. If one person in the room suffers from a contagious disease the whole room is affected. The lack of privacy meant that if a wife came to stay there was very limited accommodation for her. Hostel life estranges the husband from his family. Allocation of rooms and bunks is without reference to the age of the individual, which may lead to a man of 60 having to use an upper bunk, and having great difficulty in getting in and out of bed. Workers had no choice of who they should share rooms with, and are simply allocated their bunk. Apart from the obvious risk of airborne infection from tuberculosis or pneumonia, there was a wide range of subtle psychological and other effects on people who were required to live under these conditions. In considering the evidence the Commission realises that the question of hostels/compounds is an exceedingly complex one for which there is no immediate solution. Conditions vary from mine to mine but the system is essentially an unnatural one. Those giving evidence acknowledged that the system could not be abolished overnight without bringing the mining industry to a grinding halt, and that about 50% of current residents in hostels would still opt for single male accommodation. Moreover there were some mines with a very limited lifespan at which it would be financially impossible to upgrade their hostels. What was important was that a significant step should be taken in suggesting that housing at mines become part of the Reconstruction and Development Program. The COMMISSION RECOMMENDS that the mining houses take a policy decision to move towards family housing over a period of time, and that in the meantime steps be taken to upgrade existing hostels whenever it is reasonably practicable to do so. The COMMISSION FURTHER RECOMMENDS that a tripartite structure be established between the State, the mining industry and representatives of employees to seek ways and means of improving the lot of workers who live on the mines, and to investigate the whole question of housing and accommodation for workers and their families at mines, with due regard for the continued viability of communities thus established. A way must be found which will enable our 13

20 society to make changes in order to make better human beings of the workers by giving them proper and better family life, without killing off the industry. The relationship between accommodation at mines and the health of mineworkers will be considered further in Chapter Constraints on Training The question of communication and transfer of information in a dangerous occupation such as mining is of enormous importance, but there are problems and constraints involved. The great majority of the mining workforce is illiterate and innumerate. They speak a range of different languages, some in addition to the previous official languages of Afrikaans and English. The mining industry has sought to overcome the problem of communication by using the mining lingua franca called Fanagalo as the language of the mines. The Commission considers this to be very unsatisfactory, because the language has a very limited vocabulary and is unable to convey subtle meaning. While it may be satisfactory for giving simple commands it is quite inadequate to convey the nature and extent of the dangers that lurk beneath the surface, the source of such dangers, and how best to avoid them. Another problem concerning the use of Fanagalo was illustrated by Mr Zokwana. Although he spoke English and Afrikaans he was required and obliged to speak in Fanagalo when he took up work at the mines. Instead of addressing persons or mine officials as Mr or Meneer, he was required to use the Fanagalo expression Baas. Workers find this offensive as does the Commission. The COMMISSION RECOMMENDS that having due regard to the complexity of the language issue all workers be given basic education and training in English. A sound basic education is a prerequisite for effective training, and training schemes may have reduced effectiveness if they do not build on an adequate educational standard. Adult education programs involving training over a period of time are to be recommended. Good examples of these were seen by the Commission at Western Deep Levels and Elandsrand mines. Similar methods and principles should be adopted and extended at all mines. There are special difficulties in training those who are illiterate and enumerate. There are institutions such as the Tembelethu Education Center in Pietermaritzburg which specialise in such matters. The COMMISSION RECOMMENDS that the mining industry should avail itself of the expertise available in this and related fields. 2.2 Accident Records Accident experience in the South African mining industry has, historically been unacceptable. The GME, Mr J B Raath, described the accident rates as appallingly high. Documentation presented in evidence by him to the Commission confirms this serious situation. 14

21 The NUM submission stated that the loss of life and the destruction of health as a result of mining is staggering. In the first 93 years of this century over mineworkers have died and more than a million have been seriously injured. At current accident levels it is estimated that a worker who spends 20 years underground faces a 1 in 30 chance of being injured or killed in gold mines. In 1993, 578 mineworkers died in accidents, that is more than one per thousand of the workforce. In the same year, mineworkers were seriously injured, that is more than fifteen per thousand. In the course of evidence, Dr. Leger said that there ought to be a lower fatality rate in coal mining than in the gold mining industry, but there was no evidence of that in the 1993 figures. On the contrary the situation deteriorated in 1993, although there had been a sustained improvement over the previous decade. Moreover fatalities in the diamond mines have actually increased in the last decade. The major cause of fatalities and the single most important cause of reportable injuries has been rockfalls and rockbursts. Further analysis of accident records will be found in Chapter 3 The presentation of statistics for mining accidents in South Africa in the last decade has left much to be desired, and hampered comparison with international statistics, but the Commission feels that it is important that the following snapshot views of fatal and reportable injuries in South Africa, and in comparison with other countries should be recorded: TABLE 1 - Statistics for graphs relating to the Government Mining Engineers Division (GME submission) Refer to Table 1 at the end of this chapter. This table takes the year 1932 as its starting point and then reflects the change over the years 1959 to TABLE 2 - Accident data: 1984 to 1993 Refer to Table 2 at the end of this chapter. This reflects the position relating to fatalities, reportable accidents and injury rates during this period for all mines, gold mines and coal mines For international comparison the Commission was provided with snapshots of accident statistics TABLE 3 - International Labour Office (ILO) Statistics Refer to Table 3 at the end of this chapter. This table was brought to the attention of the Commission as a snapshot of the international situation produced in the ILO report Safety and Health in Mines 1994 No 51 page 13. (Cameron p ). This compared 19 countries regarding 15

22 fatal accidents in mining operations taken on an annual basis between 1989 and South Africa rates are joint 14th out of 19, with only Turkey, Yugoslavia, Papua New Guinea and Pakistan appearing to have worse rates than South Africa TABLE 4 - Data Produced for Hard Coal Underground Mines by the Department of Health and Working Conditions of the State Mining Authority of Poland. 2.3 Occupational Disease Records Refer to Table 4 at the end of this chapter. These statistics and graphs were brought to the attention of the Commission (Davies pp ) and we reproduce one of the graphs here. In terms of fatalities per 1000 employees for 1992, South African rates were only exceeded by Turkey, and were seven times higher than the United Kingdom. It is clear from the evidence that the number of fatalities and serious injuries in the South African Mining Industry is unacceptably high and the Commission will endeavor in this report to address this problem and make appropriate recommendations. The task of the Commission was made more difficult because of the dearth of accurate accident records. While the statistics for fatal accidents and serious injuries are available, no reliable statistics are available for diseases caused by the industry, and these can only be estimated. The Commission heard evidence that in 1992, workers were compensated, but the NUM may be correct in saying that such figures are only the tip of the iceberg. On of the problems is that while tuberculosis is endemic to the industry, symptoms of the disease may only manifest themselves after workers have returned to their homes in the rural areas. Valid numerator data is not available and valid denominator data does not exist. Dr. Leger (Exhibit B Vol 2 NUM page 84, and para 5.4 to para 5.7) who has tried to establish incidence rates says:- Therefore a proxy for the incidence rate is defined here as the number of new disease cases per year per thousand employees. The denominator may be the number either in mine employment, in underground employment or who undergo periodical fitness examinations. In another submission (Dr. White Exhibit B V2 Ch 3 pp 47-49) the Commission noted that annual medical reports were phased out by the Anglo American Corporation in 1983 and by Rand Mines in Gencor keeps its records confidential. This cessation of publication creates a huge gap in our knowledge of trends in disease statistics among miners. A number of factors influence the interpretation of reports issued by the Medical Bureau Occupational Diseases (MBOD) and others. Two of the most important factors are the systematic under diagnosis of occupational disease, for example by relying on small X-rays that fail to diagnose pneumoconiosis, and the changing nature of the labour force since Miners now spend a much larger part of their working lives at mines, compared with 16

23 previous periods, leading to greater exposure to dust and the development of dust related diseases. It is sufficient in this chapter to give a broad outline of some of the statistics put before the Commission, particularly by Dr. Leger and Dr. White. -Tuberculosis rates were about 58 per thousand after 15 years exposure. After 10 years exposure between forty and eighty per cent of workers involved in drilling operations would have hearing problems. An 18 year old man starting a career in mining at the stope face would have a one in two to one in three chance of being permanently disabled from accident or disease. -A study of shaft sinkers, developers, stopers and shift bosses had shown that if a man were to work shifts the probability of developing silicosis was over 30 per cent. If silicosis is severe it can develop into progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) which is one of the most feared complications of the disease. -Asbestos is a fibrous mineral which is known to cause several kinds of lung disease. After 20 years exposure in an asbestos mine, twenty five per cent of the workforce can be detected as having lung disease. It has now been established scientifically that there is an association between asbestos exposure and lung cancer. -Research has shown that after forty years of exposure, fifty to sixty per cent of coal miners would develop simple coal miners pneumoconiosis, and about 5 per cent would develop PMF. -About miners develop tuberculosis every year. One survey in the 1930s suggested that about 60 per cent of these may die within two years. The longer a worker works at the mines the more likely he is to develop tuberculosis. Miners with less than five years experience develop the disease to the extent of only eight per 1000, while those with more than five years experience develop it to the extent of 20 per Lung function is reduced by lung disease. With silicosis after fifteen years exposure, a worker will have lost about fifty percent of his lung function if he reached 65 years of age. -There has been a significant under diagnosis of coal miners pneumoconiosis. Statistics from routine examinations suggested that the prevalence was 4% but autopsy studies show that it is 7,1%. Based on examinations at 61 collieries in the United Kingdom between 1990 and 1993, the prevalence for all age groups was 0,4% and for age groups below 44 years 0,1%. Further comment on health issues in the mining industry will be made in Chapter Four. 17

24 TABLE 1 STATISTICS FOR GRAPHS RELATING TO THE GOVERNMENT MINING ENGINEER S DIVISION (1932 FIGURES USED AS BASIS = 100%) STAFF X 1000 AUTHORISED ACTUAL % OF AUTHORISED % INCREASE AUTHORISED % INCREASE ACTUAL FATALS REPORTABLES YEAR LABOUR % TONNAGE % INCREASE NO RATE/1000 NO RATE/

25 TABLE 2: ACCIDENT DATA TYPE OF MINE YEAR FATALATIES FATALATY INJURIES INJURY RATE RATE ALL MINES GOLD MINES COAL MINES