Vol. 71/No. 23      June 11, 2007

On May 24 a methane gas explosion ripped through the Yubileynaya mine, in the country’s south-central district of Kemerovo. It took place just two months after 110 workers died in a similar explosion at the Ulyanovskaya mine, 25 miles away. Both mines are operated by Yuzhkuzbassugol Joint Stock Company.

The French Press Agency and other media reported that 194 miners and 23 engineering inspectors were working underground on the day shift at the Yubileynaya mine at the time of the blast. The bodies of 38 miners were pulled from the mine and six others were injured that day, according to the Regnum news agency. Of the wounded, one died in the hospital three days later, and another remains in critical condition.

The day of the explosion, news accounts said scores of distraught relatives stood in the rain outside the mine office, scouring an initial list of the victims hanging on the wall.

According to Alexander Sergeyev, chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners, coal miners in the country count on production bonuses rather than hourly wages for a majority of their income. This system puts pressure on workers to “work hastily and ignore possible dangers” in order to make a living, Sergeyev said.

Under pressure from the workers and their union following the Ulyanovskaya catastrophe in March, the company had reportedly restructured the form of payment to reduce the proportion of miners’ wages tied to productivity.

An investigation into the cause of the blast, the outcome of which could result in the suspension or revocation of the company’s license, is being conducted by the country’s industrial safety and environmental protection agencies.

Officials of Rostekhnadzor, the Russian industrial safety agency, said its inspectors had twice applied to have the mine closed for safety violations, but were blocked by local courts. The agency released a statement saying it had only been able to shut down sections of the mine for a limited time, which “included shaft 15-16,” where the May 24 explosion erupted.

Yuzhkuzbassugol, which runs 12 mines and extracts 18 percent of Russia’s coal, is 50 percent owned by three of its top managers, who are said to have operational control. The other half is held by Evraz Group, which owns steel mills, and coal, vanadium, and iron ore mines around the world. Evraz appears to be taking advantage of the disaster to wrest, at a steep discount, the half of the company its shareholders had previously refused to sell.

Local officials back the move. Immediately after the blast, Kemerovo governor Aman Tuleyev said on television, “We are now posing the question that there should be a change of owner and management.” After the company’s top managers agreed to sell their shares, Tuleyev “hurried to underline the purely natural causes of the accident and the lack of grounds for a revocation of the company’s license,” before any investigation is completed, reported the Russian daily Kommersant.

Evraz Group is 41 percent owned by the billionaire Roman Abramovich, Russia’s richest man, according to Forbes. Abramovich acquired his wealth by snatching up oil and aluminum assets cheaply during Russia’s chaotic privatization following the collapse of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s. He is the current governor of the far eastern region of Chukotka—an example of the close ties between Moscow and many private employers. Abramovich also owns the Chelsea Football Club, a London-based soccer team, and Stamford Bridge stadium in London.
 
 
Related articles:
U.S. mine agency won’t cite bosses for ‘root causes’ of Sago disaster  
 
 
Front page (for this issue) | Home | Text-version home