Gideon du Plessis, general secretary of trade union Solidarity, writes about mining safety in South Africa and compares it to the different approach that prevails in Australia where safety procedures are simply not disregarded under any circumstances.  

He says that, leaving aside factors that cannot be controlled, the human factor in South African mining is what leads to the high number of mining fatalities.  Just as unsound labour relations in SA mining is a result of poor leadership and judgement, so too behaviour, actions and decisions on the part of mining stakeholders, fuelled by poor discipline, ideology, power and self-interest, contribute to unacceptably high mine deaths.  These factors make up the abnormal environment in which labour relations and occupational safety in the mining industry are carried out.  The result is the destruction of lives and work opportunities.  Du Plessis goes on to note that the statistics for January and February 2017 show an increase in mining deaths, with 16 fatal accidents in comparison with 13 for the same period in 2016. (Loosely translated from Afrikaans)

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