A landslide at a jade mine in northern Kachin state this week, buried over 100 miners with more workers still missing. This landslide was only the most recent one in an area where corruption, repression and deregulation all create the conditions for these deadly accidents. Miners are forced to work in precarious conditions, often in semi-legal situations, to eke out a living while the profits of the owners of these mines are measured in billions of dollars annually. Only the establishment of independent unions will improve the health and safety of workers and their families in the region.
A landslide at a jade mine in northern Kachin state this week, buried over 100 miners with more workers still missing. This landslide was only the most recent one in an area where corruption, repression and deregulation all create the conditions for these deadly accidents. Miners are forced to work in precarious conditions, often in semi-legal situations, to eke out a living while the profits of the owners of these mines are measured in billions of dollars annually. Only the establishment of independent unions will improve the health and safety of workers and their families in the region.
