New law on mines regulation in KP finds no takers among workers.

Byline: Zulfiqar Ali

PESHAWAR -- The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mines Safety, Inspection and Regulation Act, 2019, meant to promote and improve protection of mineworkers operating in risky conditions was passed by the provincial assembly on Friday without addressing major concerns of the workers' associations.

'The department neither sought our input nor shared the draft bill with us before laying it in the assembly,' Coal Mine Workers Welfare Association general secretary Abid Yaar said, adding that major demands of workers, including compensation for the deceased and increase in wages, were ignored in the new law.

Stakeholders say the government was under pressure to legislate following a series of incidents in the coalmines of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that led to the death of dozens of workers in the last few years.

Abid Yaar said a total of 86 people of Shangla district had died in coal mine incidents since Jan 2019.

He said 85 per cent population of Shangla District was attached with mining sector.

Act ignores demand of better wages, compensation for deceased, insist labour leaders

The association leader said workers were working in deplorable condition in mines, especially in coal ones.

The new act was drafted to consolidate and amend the law relating to the safety and mining operations and the inspection and regulation of mines, mining operations and materials used therein; to promote and improve the safety and health of persons working in mines and for purposes connected therewith and ancillary thereto.

The law was passed following the 18th Constitution Amendment under which several subjects were devolved from the centre to provinces.

The law protects the rights of women, who have been barred from working below the ground in mines.

Under Section 46(1) of the new law, no woman shall be employed in any part of a mine which is below ground. Also, no woman shall be allowed to work in a mine above the ground between 7pm and 6am.

The law says no owner or mine manager shall knowingly employ a woman or no woman shall engage herself in employment in any mine during six months following the day on which she has delivered of a child.

'If any woman employed in a mine who is pregnant gives notice either orally or in writing in the prescribed form to the mine manager that she expects to be delivered of a child within one and half month from the date of such notice, the mine manager shall permit her if she desires to absent herself from work to...