Friday, July 30, 2010
Senate's Version Of Mine Safety Bill Released
WEST VIRGINIA....
The U.S. Senate's version of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act of 2010 was revealed this week. The bill protects whistleblowers in the nation's mines by giving miners the ability to freely speak out against safety violations at their mines. In addition, it reins in some of the problems that have occurred at the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration over the years in their inspection process. The Senate's version allows miners to sit one-on-one with MSHA officials to talk about safety issues without the pressure of having company and union officials in the meeting. It also has a provision that will mandate a day of training that shows miners how to report unsafe conditions in the workplace to MSHA. Under the House version, whistleblowers could shutdown a mine if it is deemed to be unsafe. It also expands the powers of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration across all businesses. The underlying philosophy of both bills is that miners need to go to work everyday with the confidence that everything's being done by the company and administrated by the government to make sure they have a safe place to work.
The U.S. Senate's version of the Robert C. Byrd Mine Safety and Health Act of 2010 was revealed this week. The bill protects whistleblowers in the nation's mines by giving miners the ability to freely speak out against safety violations at their mines. In addition, it reins in some of the problems that have occurred at the federal Mine Safety and Health Administration over the years in their inspection process. The Senate's version allows miners to sit one-on-one with MSHA officials to talk about safety issues without the pressure of having company and union officials in the meeting. It also has a provision that will mandate a day of training that shows miners how to report unsafe conditions in the workplace to MSHA. Under the House version, whistleblowers could shutdown a mine if it is deemed to be unsafe. It also expands the powers of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration across all businesses. The underlying philosophy of both bills is that miners need to go to work everyday with the confidence that everything's being done by the company and administrated by the government to make sure they have a safe place to work.
# posted by Homer Owens @ 6:42 AM 
