![\"2000137\"](\"https:\/\/www.ncr-iran.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2017\/12\/2000137.jpg\" "\\"2000137\\"")
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NCRI Staff<\/p>\n
NCRI –\u00a0Due to using non-standard and outdated safety equipments, there are currently extremely harsh working conditions in Iran\u2019s coal mines, threatening lives of thousands of the country\u2019s coal miners.<\/p>\n
\u201cLives of 13,000 coal miners are in danger\u201d, says head of Iran\u2019s Coalmine Community.<\/p>\n
Acknowledging that governments all over the world routinely promote coal mines\u2019 safety standards, he confesses that this has been neglected in Iran, threatening lives of 13,000 coal miners.<\/p>\n
Mohammad Mojtahedzadeh points to shortcomings in coal mines\u2019 safety measures, saying \u201cwe\u2019re still unfamiliar with mining safety standards.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Mojtahedzadeh, since starting operation in 1966, Iran\u2019s coal mines are still being operated using an outdated Russian technology, with no changes being made ever since (State-run ILNA news agency, December 4, 2017).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s been many years now that Iran has been ranked among the world\u2019s worst countries with regard to workplace accidents.<\/p>\n
As acknowledged by Alireza Mahjoub, regime\u2019s MP and General Secretary of Worker House, \u201cwith regard to workplace accidents, Iran is ranked second or third in the world, which is quite worrying.\u201d (State-run IranOnline website, April 29, 2017)<\/p>\n
Its\u2019 obvious that the main cause of workplace accidents is regime officials\u2019 inaction and their ignorance towards workers\u2019 health and safety in factories and industrial units, including coal mines, as exploiting workers is the only thing that matters for regime officials.<\/p>\n
The main cause of work accidents in factories, and coal mines in particular, is using non-standard safety equipments, so much so that no equipment or workforce safety standards are met.<\/p>\n
This has led to a point where fatal workplace incidents are awaiting workers any moment. The disastrous explosions in Yurt coalmine as well as Boyer-Ahmad Steel Plant are just a few instances in this regard.<\/p>\n
Safety status in Minudasht coalmine was so critical that Golestan\u2019s provincial officials had to close it following miners\u2019 protest. Coalmines in Ramyan and Azadshahr were also shut down due to the same reason.<\/p>\n
While coal miners are constantly subject to workplace accidents and following the heart-wrenching disasters in Iran\u2019s coalmines, the mullahs\u2019 regime denies any shortcomings and even faults the miners. Regarding the accident in Gloestan province\u2019s Yurt coalmine, regime officials flagrantly put the blame on miners, so that regime\u2019s governor in Golestan announced that \u201cthe negligence of a repairer\u201d has caused the explosion in the coalmine.\u201d (State-run Mehr news agency, May 3, 2017)<\/p>\n
Regime\u2019s Labor Minister \u2018Rabiei\u2019 has also pointed the finger at miners, saying \u201capparently the coal-carrying locomotive broke down while working 700 meters below ground and the explosion occurred after a battery to battery charger was used to start the locomotive.\u201d (State-run Shargh newspaper, May 3, 2017)<\/p>\n
This is while the extremely harsh working conditions make such incidents inevitable in mines that are non-standard and lack any modern equipment.<\/p>\n
Despite all these problems and miseries hurting coalminers and in addition to the fact that they\u2019re exploited in the most brutal way by regime officials, they have to work even in two shifts deep below ground. In many cases, miners are forced to work in10-hour shifts, 4 hours more than legally allowed.<\/p>\n
Nonetheless, Iranian miners have to work under the most inhumane working conditions imposed on them, only to be paid a meager monthly wage of $150-$200 or $250 at most, which is one fourth of the country\u2019s poverty line. This is one tenth of that paid in many other countries, developed ones in particular. Yet, exploiting miners reaches its peak when we note that they have to work under one-year, six-month, and even three-month contracts, and there are even employers that basically don\u2019t offer any employment contract to poor miners.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NCRI Staff NCRI – Due to using non-standard and outdated safety equipments, there are currently extremely harsh working conditions in Iran’s coal mines, threatening lives of thousands of the country’s coal […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[178],"class_list":{"0":"post-23997","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-society","7":"tag-save"},"yoast_head":"\n