Occupational Health and Safety of Miners

There have been several mining accidents across the country and predominantly in Balochistan and KPK during the past few years which have resulted in death and injury. Miners are either suffocated underground, trapped, or injured. They are not provided with basic safety equipment and the mine practices are usually archaic and highly dangerous. There is no regulatory framework for the safety of miners and no government regulatory body that regulates, monitors or controls their occupational health and safety. ILO’s Conventions including the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (C176) has not been ratified by Pakistan. PILAP has written RTIs to the Ministry of Energy as well as the Ministry of Human Resources and Overseas Pakistanis asking for any measures taken to ratify this significant international instrument.