ISLAMABAD, Sept 27: Dangerous working environment and occupational health hazards pose threat to the lives of mine workers who are still facing victimization.

This was the gist of deliberations at a seminar on 'Bonded labour in mining sector of Pakistan', organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute here on Monday.

Speakers at the seminar included Khewra Salt Mines Trade Union activist Ramzan Khokhar, ILO National Programme Manager Mohammad Saifullah and Research Assistant/Director Urdu Publications Ahmad Salim.

Mr Khokhar said health and safety concerns of the mine workers was top priority during the British rule. He said the electric trolleys used in the past were safe and environment friendly. The tractor trolleys used in mines today produce dangerous smoke and the dust rising from the tires makes breathing difficult, he added.

"In five to seven years, a miner contracts TB or other diseases." Mr Khokhar said there were 685 registered miners working in Khewra Salt Mines on just Rs1,000 a month. This amount is not even fixed and withholding tax is deducted from it, he added.

Furthermore, he said, a miner was supposed to come out with a specified amount of salt or else he was not paid the promised sum. To top it all, miners have to purchase safety gear and other supplies themselves, he added.

"So you can imagine the actual amount of money a single miner takes home. All facilities and allowances such as gratuity funds or old age benefits have also been withdrawn," the activist said.

In 1983, the then Punjab finance minister Nawaz Sharif had permitted private owners to mine for salt in Khewra wherever possible. He said the mine owners used to take away usable salt and dump the rest in front of the mines.

Rain water carried the discarded salt to agricultural fields which destroyed the crops. Today fields are barren and even the ground water is hard, the activist added. He said there were some 25 private salt mines in Khewra, while one each was owned by Pakistan Mineral Development Corporation (PMDC) and Punjab Mineral Development Corporation.

Talking about his ILO-supported research on the state of miners, Ahmad Salim said inhuman child and bonded labour was rampant in the mining sector. The situation is worst in unregistered mines, he added.

He said in case of a disaster, mine owners offered compensation ranging between Rs5,000 to Rs10,000 to the victim. Similarly, in death cases, owners are bound to pay Rs300,000 to mine worker's family, but mostly such cases go unreported and miners are buried without informing their kin, he added.

He said most of the miners belonged to Dir, Shangla and other regions of Swat. Private mine owners send a middleman who uses various tactics to trap people of these regions, especially Shangla.

Many people live below poverty line and easily get trapped by accepting loans ranging between Rs20,000 and Rs50,000, which they can never repay and so they end up working in mines. Miners have died under debt, he added.

Talking about child labour in the sector, Mr Salim said mining was tough work and children involved in mining were aged 14 and above. They are either employed at kitchens or involved in loading, he added.

Mr Salim said the most important concern regarding children was child abuse. "Their rates are fixed between Rs150 and Rs200," he added. There were no laws for safety of mine workers, he said adding that "it is because many legislators own mines and allow human rights violations at their mines."

The mining laws from 1923 are decaying in books but not implemented. Laws on bonded labour also needed implementation, the research assistant said. The ILO representative, Mr Saifullah, said poverty, illiteracy and awareness were main reason for exploitation and victimization.