Soft issue
zones, employees could also report their superiors if they
felt that their safety concerns were being ignored. “Then the
Section 23 stoppages actually picked up.”
Kumba started receiving very good feedback through
Section 23 work stoppages. So good was the feedback, a
reward system was created to encourage more employees to
stop work when it was not safe. “We’ve got a floating trophy
for the team that did the best Section 23 stoppage. That you
will not find in any other mining company,” Fourie added.
He even mentioned that the DMR applauded Kumba for
their reward system.
Collaboration is key
From a mining industry point of view, the Minerals Council
also implemented measures to address health and safety in
the industry. One of them is the CEO Zero Harm Forum
and included intensified scrutiny on the major causes of
accidents, the sharing of good practice as well as additional,
fundamental research through the Mine Health and Safety
Commission. Part of this initiative was the launch in August
2018 of the National Day of Safety & Health in Mining,
where all mines of all Minerals Council members were
asked to hold special days at which safety and health would
be front and centre of each and every person at each and
every mine, across all disciplines and jobs.
In 2018, 81 fatalities were recorded, which is nine less than
the previous year. Andile Sangqu, Minerals Council vice
president, attributes the improvement in the fatality rate to
collaboration in the industry by all stakeholders including
government and labour. “But this improvement is no ground
for complacency. Efforts to improve further will continue, as
they will even when the goal of zero fatalities is reached.”
Msiza shared the same view saying, “Stakeholder
collaboration is critical. The DMR and the Mine Health and
Safety Council hosted the Mine Health and Safety Summit
in October 2018. At this summit, robust discussions on
pertinent causes of injuries, diseases and fatalities took
place. Among others, critical topics for discussion included
falls of ground, seismicity, noise, HIV/AIDS/TB, right to
refuse dangerous work, occupational lung diseases (OLD),
fires, explosions and the implementation of the culture
transformation framework.”
“During 2019 and beyond, we will continue to engage with
the executive management of mining companies to discuss
their strategies to prevent fatalities, injuries and diseases,”
Msiza said. He also added that workshops with the health
and safety representatives to train and coach executive
management in exercising their rights and powers as
stipulated in the Mine Health and Safety Act will continue.
“Fatalities do not have to be an inevitable by-product of
mining. If we can work one day with zero harm, then we can
do two, four, 100 and more. We know the fatal risks facing
us, and we need to manage them properly,” said Fourie. b
30 AFRICAN MINING JULY - AUGUST 2019