Chilean miners won't get paid while they're buried alive, claims union official



The 33 trapped Chilean miners may not receive any wages while they are trapped underground, a union official has claimed.

Evelyn Olmos says that San Esteban, the company that operates the mine, has said it has no money to pay their wages and absorb lawsuits, and is not even participating in the rescue



Mr Olmos has called on the government to pay the workers' wages starting in September, as well as giving help to the roughly 100 other people at the mine who are now out of work and 170 more who work elsewhere for San Esteban.

Life or death rescue: Workers begin drilling at the Chilean mine where 33 workers are trapped underground. The machine made a preliminary test hole today, the first step in the week-long digging of a 'pilot hole' that will guide the rescue

Hard at work: The rescue operation gets underway, but could take up to four months. Drilling began as news emerged that the trapped miners may not be paid according to a union official

'We want the government to pay our salaries in full until our comrades are freed and then pay our severances,' said Olmos.



Mining Minister Laurence Golborne said the government was prohibited by labour laws from assuming responsibility for the salaries. He said it was up to the mining company and would have to be worked out in Chilean courts.

The news of the argument over wages comes as drilling begun in the rescue operation.

The 31-ton drill made a shallow, preliminary test hole today in the solid rock it must bore through, the first step in the week-long digging of a 'pilot hole' to guide the way for the rescue.

Later the drill will be fitted with larger bits to gradually expand the hole and make it big enough so the men can be pulled out one by one.

The drilling machine will advance at a rate of only 15 or 20 yards per day to allow the controllers to adjust to different rock types to keep it on a straight line.



The drilling technique that must be used means that up to 4,000 tons of rock and debris will fall down into a large mine shaft near the shelter - but far enough away from the men that they will not be in any danger.

Excavator: The huge Strata 950 which will be used to drill a test tunnel at the site

Officials have said that it is essential the men be at their best physically and mentally because their own work clearing the rocks will be vital to keeping their eventual escape route from becoming plugged.

Chilean health minister Jaime Manalich said the men’s condition had been stabilised – and their diet is being stepped up to prepare them for their first hot meal.

They have so far this week been receiving six meals a day, including ham sandwiches, cereal bars, fruit and a nutritional gel, as well as four litres of water.

According to press reports, they were today due to receive the hot meals they have been clamouring for since they were first found more than a week ago.

Medical experts reportedly said, if all went to plan, they would be receiving a meal of rice, chopped beef and yoghurt.

Rescue workers are currently using three existing bore holes to deliver the food, water, air and medicine to the miners, who are trapped around 700 meters underground.

However, efforts to lower temperatures in the cave – which regularly touch 86f (30c) – have failed, although the intense humidity has been reduced slightly thanks to one of the boreholes.

The stepping up of the rescue effort comes as the miners gained the dubious honour of becoming the longest-trapped miners in recent history, surpassing the record of three Chinese miners who were trapped last year.

Before rescuers dug small bore holes down to the miners' emergency shelter, the men survived 17 days without contact with the outside world by rationing a 48-hour supply of food and digging for water in the ground.



And while doubts remain over the operation, experts have said that the rescuers have the tools to get the job done, although the rescue could still take three or four months.

'The drill operators have the best equipment available internationally,' said Dave Feickert, director of KiaOra, a mine safety consulting firm in New Zealand that has worked extensively with the Chinese government to improve dangerous mines.

'This doesn't mean it will be easy,' he added. 'They are likely to run into some technical problems that may slow them down.'





Desperation: Some of the 33 trapped miners make gestures to a camera that was sent down one of three existing boreholes

Lifesaver: The drilling machine upon its arrival at the mine. The miners have only three six-inch wide holes to receive supplies through, but rescuers aim to use this drill to bore a channel wide enough to release those underground