NCRI – A day after the accident at the Yurt mine in Azadshahr (north of Iran), the actual number of dead miners is unclear. Iran’s Minister of Industry and Mines confirmed that a subset of the IRGC was stakeholder of the mine.
In the aftermath of the explosion at the Yurt mine, 90 km East of Gorgan in the Golestan province that took place at noon on Wednesday, May 3rd, at least 35 workers were killed. But it remains unclear how many are still in the mine. Hosseingholi Qavanlou, the Head of Industry, Mine and Trade in Golestan Province, said: “We are not holding much hope of any survivors.”
The miners’ families had previously said many of the workers have not been paid their salaries and insurance premiums for 10 months in the past year. Another subject that has garnered special attention on Iranian social networks is the ownership of the mine. The state-run News Agency ISNA was at the scene today, and he wrote in his Twitter: “Last night, I asked for the mine’s manager. There is no news on his whereabouts, he has completely disappeared.”
In the early hours of the accident, officials had announced that the mine is privately owned, but with the release of shareholders documents, it was found that the main shareholder is a subsidiary of “Cooperative Foundation of Basij Paramilitary”, a part of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Regarding the situation of the miners in this mine, the website “field” wrote, “Yurt miners and workers in Iran have no independent trade organization to pressure employers for safety in the workplace. Miners who were buried there did not even imagine that for their unpaid rights or unsafe workplace conditions, they have the right to strike. In light of the absence of a miners’ union, the cause of death eventually leads to a government report in the Ministry of Labor folders that may never be published at all. When the loose pillars of the mine are finally fixed and the mine’s work restarts, there is no independent responsible labor entity to force employers to meet and comply with the rules of law.”
The Yurt miners’ accident in Azadshar (North Iran) coincided with the meeting of the Crisis Management Staff held on Thursday, May 4th. A group of miners and the families of those trapped miners were protesting outside of that meeting. The protesters were demanding the presence of the governor outside the meeting.
Those miners said their salaries were equal to the price of an evening meal of the Ministers, but if we protest regarding ourproblems, we will be dismissed. They reported that the Inspection Department of either the Labor or Industries Ministries had not checked the credentials of this mine. The conditions of this mine include a close circuit, which is not standard, and is unlawful to operate because it is does not meet basic mining standards. The miners pointed out that two weeks ago, they had warned the mine’s officials about the mine not being standard and the gas leak, but the mine authorities responded, “You can leave if you don’t work.”
The coinciding of this incident with the regime’s presidential election campaign have also caused various factions to take political advantage of it.
