Russia Steps up Safety in Coal Mines in Kuzbass
Strategic Research Institute
Published on :
20 Jan, 2022, 5:30 am
Russian President has approved a list of instructions following a meeting on the coal industry in Kuzbass, which was held on December 2, 2021. In conjunction with the State Duma, the Government has been instructed to ensure the introduction of amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, which would provide, in particular, for punishment in case of non-compliance with the requirements for conducting degassing during coal (shale coal) mining; and enhancing employer liability for violating requirements related to labour protection in the workplace with a hazardous and dangerous working environment, including subsurface mining. The instructions also cover the need to ensure the introduction of amendments to the legislation providing for the creation of an auditing system for the organisations operating hazardous production facilities, and to use administrative liability measures against oversight officials from the coal mine operators in cases of accidents or incidents at mines that lead to death or that harm the health of two or more individuals.
The instructions to the Government concern, in particular, the creation of financial mechanisms which guarantee that subsoil users will eliminate and conserve mine openings, bore wells and other structures; the use of video recording devices when carrying out federal state supervision of industrial safety as it relates to hazardous production sites; the development of a list of upper-air safety requirements and other occupational safety requirements with regard to underground mining facilities based on best practices.
The Government was also instructed to consider the introduction of amendments to the legislation concerning, in particular, the remuneration of workers in the coal industry; requiring employers to provide trade unions with the opportunity to monitor compliance by employers with labour legislation and other regulatory legal acts; the responsibility of employers for obstructing the exercise of trade union control; the decommissioning of coal mines presenting a high accident risk (based on the analysis of the consequences of such a decommissioning for the economy and the social sphere); and the introduction of coal mining technology that eliminates the risk of group accidents.
In addition, instructions for the Government concern the introduction of amendments to the legislation providing for the improvement of security and monitoring systems, increasing reliability of collective and individual means of rescue, protection against falsified readings of automatic control systems, transmitting remote monitoring and individual sensor data on miner location to Rostekhnadzor and the Emergencies Ministry in real time, and additional employer liability to compensate the family members of miners who die as a result of an industrial accident or in connection with an occupational disease.
A number of instructions were issued to the Government in conjunction with the General Prosecutor's Office, the Government of Kemerovo Region-Kuzbass and the Russian Independent Trade Union of Coal Industry Workers.