Talked to my former son-in-law the other day. He works in a coal mine in Alberta and was talking about hauling coal from the underground mine to the rail loading area. I said – what underground mine – I thought we didn’t know how to mine underground. – It was news to him.

I’m curious….the United Steelworkers are demanding that the temporary Chinese workers be sent back to China and the jobs be given to Canadian workers.

I don’t have any issues with that, but many Canadians are employed all over the world, many in the mining and oil/gas industries amongst others.

Will the United Steelworkers also be demanding that these Canadians workers be sent back to Canada?

Nope ….

We just want to be like the Chinese …

1. no Canadian mine workers in China
2. no Chinese mine workers in Canada …

Both Chinese and Canadians have mine workers in what are typically third world countries, as do other countries … and, btw, SOME of the Canadian companies operating in such countries are not well regarded …..

Seems to be some sort of equity there …..

If I understand the United Steelworkers’ position correctly, they are saying that IF available, qualified Canadian workers are available, then they shoulod be given first opportunity. HD Mining is arguing that as there are NO qualified Canadian workers for the positions, that they should be allowed to bring in Chinese workers from there own operations in China.

This would be appropriate under current Cdn federal gov’t policy and practice.

The problem is: What are the appropriate skills and qualifications to be an underground coal miner?

Nice comment ski50 … by the way, jump over aother province and you will find some huge underground potash operations in SK…

check out the link:

http://www.potashcorp.com/media/POT_Journey_Brochure.pdf

I highly doubt that Canadian workers are working in foreign countries because they will work for less.

There kep being in the news about a shortage of skilled workers. The question is what skills are in true shortage? As a person looking for gwork, would gladly work in these jobs if I know what skills and how to get the financing to aquire the skills.

This issue with HD Mining is actually a violation of our Canadian Chartered Rights. “Canadians” are entitled to work any where in Canada they choose and preventing qualified Canadians from working at this facility is a violation of the Charter. Close the mine and toss there asses out of the country, you wanna play in Canada, you play by our rules!

I posted this question before and never received a reply so… please realize this is not an argument… with unemployment at around 4% (which effectively is near zero if you want to work) then who are all of these so called fully qualified workers that are waiting to go work in an underground mine?

when this story first broke, there was the info that the chinese workers would be making 22 bucks an hour with benefits included in that wage. why have canadian workers that expect a good living wage? btw, before we all slap each other on the back about this coming to an end up there, how many on this site would give up heir double double or chicken bucket to make a statement about overseas temp (and not so temp) workers at tim hortons, kfc etc. THAT would be a sight to see. ha ha.

remember, a canadian working spends money HERE, not sending a good portion back to the old country.

Canadians have been mining coal underground for over 100 years, so that is nothing new.

What we are dealing with here is what is referred to as LONG WALL MINING. This is an entirely different process, and requires a entirely different set of skills.

Look up THE PRINCIPLES OF LONGWALL mining on UTube, by Caterpillar and you will get a good sense as to what is involved, before you make any decisions on who can and who cant, who will and who wont, go underground and do longwall mining.

Have a nice day,

Sorry Palupo, you are correct, I said underground but I know this is longwall. So is there an abundance of qualified workers in Canada that are looking for a job?

Interceptor. I would say NO there are not.

What we have is an abundance of people who THINK that there are a lot of qualified workers in Canada looking for a job.

I for one would not be in a big hurry to go underground and do any longwall mining,.

“how many on this site would give up their double double or chicken bucket to make a statement about overseas temp” .. me. I don’t go to any of the timmys anymore that are displacing locals in favor of contracting out to foreign workers. I don’t eat KFC, but if I did I would stop.

But, you say that you don’t go to any of the timmys anymore that are displacing locals in favour of contracting out to foreign workers. I have seen the local timmys advertising for help on a regular basis. The problem is that “we” aren’t willing to work for the entry level and low wages that are paid to most of the timmys employees. Go to Fort St. John, Chetwynd, Dawson Creek or Grande Prairie. Ask the Timmy’s managers if they would hire local people? They would all answer yes, but they can’t find locals who want the job. And so the companies find workers that will work for what the business can afford to pay.

Our “Okanagan” fruit growers face a constant battle trying to find enough workers to pick their fruit. “We” won’t work for what they can afford to pay, so they try to bring in temporary workers, usually from Mexico, in order to get their fruit crops picked. Not every business can afford to pay the high union wages that some seem to think everybody should be paid.

I sure don’t know what the solution is to getting locals to pick fruit or work at timmys. What I do know is that the foreign workers that greet me at timmys always seem polite and friendly and are more than happy to serve me. Guess if we don’t want the jobs, then we shouldn’t have a problem with them having them.

“a canadian working spends money HERE”

1. on Mexican vacations
2. clothing made in Jordan
3. shoes made in China
4. cars made in Japan
5. TVs made in Korea
6. Tools made in Sweden ….

Luckily no one is exporting prefab buildings to Canada yet, at least not in significant quantities …. or hamburgers and fries … :-)

ftp://ftp.eia.doe.gov/coal/tr0588.pdf

Read chapter 2 regarding hostory and technique of longwall mining .. including production increase and robotic mining using this technique.

An interesting quick read of the aftermanth of a mine disaster and the wanton disregard for safety …. just in case there are people who forget that whether China, Canada or the USA in this case, peope are people ….

And that is not human error … it is the huan factor … the factor of some thinking that safe procedure are overkill …. pun intended …

http://www.forbes.com/sites/walterpavlo/2012/02/29/former-massey-energy-security-chief-sentenced-to-36-months-in-prison

To much info for me to absorb on Longwall Mining.

Suffice to say that it is a dangerous, dirty job, and I give Kudo’s to anyone who wants to work in these mines.

wow maybe the Mayans were not far off… I agree with BOTH Gus and Palupo – lol
have a great day

It seems to me that longwall mining can be safer than earlier forms of coal mining.

However, as with any dangerous enterprise, the human factor is one of the main determinants of safety as technology improves.

The article from Forbes is a short one. It needs to be read to understand the main reason people get injured and even die in industrial settings.

http://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/the-10-most-dangerous-jobs.html

The above is just a reminder of where mining sits in the USA from the point of view of fatalities per 100,000 workers.

Fishing, logging, flying, farming are all ahead of mining. (19.9/100,000 workers for mining versus 116 for fishing)

Following mining are roofing, refuse collecors (yes, refuse collectors), truck drivers, stuntmen and then police.