Earlier this year, in July, the rock slide in San Jose severely injured miner, Gino Cortez, whose leg had to be amputated. Cortez maintained that elementary safety measures, like installing a wire mesh roof of the mine to prevent sliding of the rocks, were never carried out. While waiting for the 33 miners rescued in San Jose, another worker was killed by a rock slide at another mine. The incident at the San Jose mine highlights the deteriorating security situation in the mines in Chile since the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. Under Pinochet, in the name of regulation and free market capitalism, virtually all safety regulations were dismantled. A key person in that process was Jose Pinera, Minister of Labor in 1980 and brother of current President Sebastian Pinera. He was given the task of creating a labor code that would not interfere with the profits of big business. In the name of a more flexible labor code, one that would stimulate economic growth, José Piñera abolished labor rights had been won through decades of bitter struggle by the Chilean working class. The labor code established in 1980 remains the law of the land in Chile to this day. As a result, 50 percent of Chile's working class does not have stable employment. At least 5 of the 33 miners rescued from San Jose fall into this category. In line with this policy, which ignores the safety of mine workers are denied their basic rights, a succession of governments in the "Conclusion", the magazine of the Socialist Party power with the Christian Democrats since the end of the dictatorship, the Chilean government has yet to ratify the agreement of the International Labor Organization 1995. The Convention commits nations 176 mining as Peru, Mexico and Chile to carry out a minimum of safety and sanitation measures and commit to eradicate the death of miners creating a national policy on health and safety, which would include inspections regular as well as provisions to protect miners from retaliation when they report violations of safety regulations. The last point is a real problem in Chile, where workers are routinely fired for complaining about their working conditions. Despite the failure of the agreement of the ILO, only 24 countries have ratified it. In addition to Chile, the ILO agreement has been ignored by other major mining nations such as Australia, Canada and Russia.
Since the beginning of the century, some 350 miners died in mining accidents in Chile, a number that could easily be an understatement. The lack of reports of fatalities in the mines is most evident in small mines, as the San Jose mine. In a radio interview, Marco Canales, President of the Confederation of Chilean Workers Union (CUT), said the work rules that were implemented in 1980 by José Piñera still in operation. Canales said the country lacks the minimum mining regulations. He also noted that violations of safety and sanitation also proliferate in agriculture, where workers are exposed to hazardous chemicals. Even in cases where regulations exist, they are poorly placed and when a violation is discovered, the mine management often finds it cheaper to pay fines to settle the problem. This also applies to violations at the mine resulting in injury or death. Canales said that there is insufficient training for miners. Two of the 33 miners rescued in San Jose had recently been hired without any experience of working in mines. At the same time as the CUT denounces conditions in mines and other industries, is silent about his own role. In the past 20 years has been CUT fully integrated into the structure of the Chilean state and as such has been largely unable to cause the rejection of Pinochet's labor laws.