Hudbay’s largest union is sounding alarm bells over workplace safety, but the company stresses the wellbeing of employees remains its top priority.
Tom Davie, president of United Steelworkers Local 7106, said the number of Flin Flon and Snow Lake employees seeking medical treatment for workplace-related incidents is up substantially in 2014.
“To keep going down the road we’re going, we’re going to have a fatality, there’s no doubt in my mind,” he said.
Davie said the union began taking a closer look at safety concerns after an Aug. 8, 2014 incident in which a central blast was initiated at the Reed mine while an employee was still underground.
“We’re very lucky it wasn’t a fatality,” he said, adding there were no injuries.
Davie said a supervisor at Reed not only failed to clear the mine prior to the blast, but also declined to immediately report the incident, as is required by law.
He said the incident went unreported for a month until the union got wind of it and informed upper management at Hudbay.
“It’s a real concern for us when a supervisor starts hiding safety infractions,” said Davie.
An order form issued to Hudbay by Manitoba Workplace, Safety and Health confirmed the nature of the incident and the fact that it was not immediately reported.
When union officials further examined safety figures, Davie said, they found a spike in the need for medical treatment among Hudbay employees this year, with the most severe injuries occurring at mines.
In all, more than 150 workers have sought treatment, he said.
“We have had major incidents in the last year,” Davie said. “We’ve sent six guys to the hospital at Lalor [mine] for being gassed when the mine wasn’t cleared properly. We’ve sent guys with broken legs, hit with loose [mine rock] to the point that they’re still not back to work.”
Rob Winton, head of Hudbay’s Manitoba operations, said the company has reached “a plateau in safety metrics” in the past few years.
“Safety is a value above all others at Hudbay, and a culture of safety is the company’s top priority,” he said.
Winton said Hudbay has a “robust safety program and management system” in the workplace.
For the past five years, he said, the company has used the PASS program to sustain and grow a “culture of safety.”
Winton said a key part of PASS is a “safety huddle” at the beginning of each shift, in which “all team members analyze and discuss the safety of the previous shift and what should be done as a result, and what steps need to be taken for the shift ahead.”
As for the Aug. 8 incident at Reed mine, Winton said it was jointly investigated and that “lessons from this event will be incorporated into all of our operations.”
Asked whether the supervisor who failed to clear the mine was penalized, Winton said company policy is not to publicly comment on individual employees or situations involving them.
Davie agreed Hudbay is concerned about safety, but not concerned enough to satisfy him.
He said union officials met with Hudbay earlier this month and unsuccessfully proposed the placement of a full-time union safety representative at each mine to see if injuries decline.
“The more people you have on the ground looking at the safety procedures, making sure people follow them, the better, because people are going to follow them,” Davie said.
As it stands, Davie said Hudbay’s safety department works out of the Main Office in Flin Flon. He gave the example of the individual in charge of safety at Reed mine, located between Flin Flon and Snow Lake.
“If I look after the mine at Reed Lake for management as far as a health and safety aspect, I should be at Reed Lake,” he said.
Winton said safety at Hudbay is a job for everyone, regardless of their role.
“Safety relies on people working safely and speaking up when there are concerns,” he said.
“The management of safety is only effective if it is carried out at all levels of the organization and is therefore truly a line management responsibility. This is the only way to ensure the same standard are adhered to 24/7.”
Davie was at a loss to explain what he cites as an rise in workers who need medical care.
“I don’t know if we’re just so lapse or if we’re expanding too quickly, or [if] the mindset just isn’t there,” he said. “If I’m a supervisor at Hudbay,
I’d be very concerned if one of my workers were injured or [there was] the possibility of an injury. I don’t see the panic button being pushed yet and it should have been pushed a long time ago.”
With their contracts expiring on Dec. 31, Davie said Hudbay unions may have to make safety an issue in bargaining.
“But we shouldn’t have to bargain safety positions or a better safety system for our members,” he added. “It should be done jointly over and above negotiations. The company and the union should want to change.”
