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Hon. Chris Beaudry
Minister of Energy and Resources
Legislative Assembly
Room 302, 2405 Legislative Drive, Regina, SK, S4S 0B3 @email
Dave Rezansoff
Chief Mines Inspector
Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, Mines Unit 122 3rd Avenue N, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 2H6 @email
Dear Minister Beaudry and Chief Inspector Rezansoff,
RE: Preventable Tragedy at Mosaic K3 Potash Mine – Unifor Local 892 Member, Tyrone McLeod
I am writing to you about the preventable tragedy that occurred on December 15th at the Mosaic K3 potash mine when Unifor Local 892 member, Tyrone McLeod, was killed on the job. On behalf of the members of Unifor Local 892 and more than ten thousand workers across the province of Saskatchewan, I am demanding that both Local 892 and Unifor’s Health, Safety and Environment Department be involved in a thorough investigation into the systemic failures leading up to this tragedy and the tragedy itself.
There is widespread outrage across the union over the fact that Tyrone was working in a part of the mine that was known to be high-risk by both the employer and miners. Members of Local 892 have expressed concerns about several unsafe areas of the mine. However, a high proportion of the workforce is newly hired and there are genuine fears of reprisal over bringing forward safety concerns or exercising the right to refuse unsafe work. Members who have reported concerns have been ignored by the employer or told that unsafe working conditions are to be expected in mining. I believe you would agree that unsafe conditions are never acceptable, no matter the industry.
None of this is acceptable. Unifor will always respond when an employer dismisses the health and safety concerns of workers and takes advantage of the fact that new workers may be too afraid to speak out. Tyrone’s death was entirely avoidable and Mosaic must be held to account for its failures to keep him safe.
Unifor is working with Local 892 to collect information on the ground as part of our own internal review as we conduct an independent investigation. We have become aware of the fact that the Mines Inspector has left it to the employer to collect a witness statement. This is totally unacceptable and represents an obvious conflict of interest.
Any thorough investigation of this tragedy must involve both witnesses and other workers who have frontline experience with the risks involved in the mine’s daily operations, without interference by the employer. We already have a clear picture of the absence of effective controls for identified hazards at the mine and we will know more in the coming days about how Mosaic’s failures to address these hazards may have contributed to this tragedy.
We stand ready to participate in the investigation into what transpired and to share our findings with the Chief Inspector to determine the extent of the employer’s culpability and what remedies are needed. Irrespective of our participation, Unifor will loudly advocate for justice for Tyrone and his children. We will make sure that a complete and thorough account of what happened takes place, and that such a tragedy never happens again.
Sincerely,
Lana Payne, National President
