Oscar Fernandes, minister of state (MoS) for labour and employment, today asked mining companies to put in adequate thrust on the safety budget to reduce accidents in mines.Fernandes was speaking at the opening of a two-day 10th national conference on safety in mines today.The conference is being organised by the directorate general of mines safety (DGMS), Dhanbad.Fernandes said for achieving "zero accident potential", serious introspection and analysis on the part of mining companies was required.He asked the mining industry to put in resources for research, the subsequent development of new processes, equipment and work method and also training and establishment of suitable reward system for safety.Besides, the minister said, the government needs to supplement these efforts with development and implementation of suitable legislation.Fernandes said the investment in safety had a direct bearing on the overall performance of a mining company.Minister of mines T Subbarami Reddy said mining companies need to emulate the examples of South Africa, Australia and Canada where safety standards were high.Among several issues related to the working conditions of the mine workers and general safety norms, the conference would debate on the implementation of International Labour organisation (ILO) Convention 176 in mines in India.The present conference, being the apex consultative forum in the country for deliberation on issues related to safety and health at work place in mines, assumes greater importance in the context of the fast changing work environment in the mining industry due to globalisation of workplace and increasing use of technology in production.
