safet y at mine sites 493
Organizing to improve miners’ lives
Miners around the world have improved their
lives, safety, and health by forming labor
unions and cooperatives, and by
pressuring mining companies to
obey laws and the government
to enforce them. They have
also organized campaigns
to enforce international
treaties to regulate mine
health and safety. Miners
and others have also used
strikes, demonstrations, and
Miners know that by working together,
we can move mountains!
blockades to stop mining operations
when they are unfair, unsafe, or destructive to the environment.
Women miners organize a cooperative
In Bolivia, women collect scraps of gold, silver, and tin from waste piles
dumped near the mines. Many women are forced to do this difficult work after
their husbands die in mining accidents or from silicosis. The women work long
hours, often in contaminated water, and with no protection. They earn very
little money. In the past, they were not even recognized as workers by the
government. They were like invisible people.
One day, a mining company began blasting a road through the waste
dump where a group of women were working. The women climbed to the top
of a hill to protest the destruction of their only source of income. They were
not able to stop the blasting, but they continued to fight for their rights.
They formed a cooperative to demand more money from the companies
who bought their scraps. The companies refused to pay more. But the
government recognized their struggle and passed a law that made the
companies pay the women when they missed work because of illness.
This was a small step, but it was the first time the women’s work was
recognized by the government. This small victory inspired the women and
other mine workers to continue building cooperatives and unions, and
organizing for justice.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012