Experiences of woman working underground at a coal mine in Mpumalanga province

Abstract

Introduction: Underground mining is a male-dominated occupation. It usually involves hard labour in dark and damp environments with high temperatures. These factors pose unique challenges for women. The official integration of women into mining in South Africa only commenced in 1996. Before this, women were prohibited from going underground. There were two important facilitating factors. Firstly, the new constitution of the Republic of South Africa (RSA, 1996) aimed to promote gender equality in society and in the workplace. Secondly, the Mine Health and Safety Act (Act 29 of 1996) and the Mining Charter (2004) were adopted; both of these acts advocated for including more women and advancing their careers as part of the empowerment of historically disadvantaged South Africans in the mining and minerals industry, citing a goal of ‘10 percent of women participation in the mining industry within 5 years’ (i.e. 2009). It is in this context that the researcher sought to develop an understanding of the experiences of women working underground, specifically in a coal mine in the Mpumalanga province, South Africa. Research design: A qualitative, contextual, exploratory and descriptive research design was used to explore and describe the experiences of women working underground at the Matla coal mine in the Mpumalanga province. Methods: The study population consisted of all women working underground at Matla coal mine 1 (N=60). One-on-one in-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured guide with a purposively selected sample (n=22) of the women working underground. Data analysis: Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data. Data analysis was conducted concurrently with data collection to facilitate constant comparison of the emerging themes. Results: Five themes and fourteen sub-themes emerged from the data analysis process. The results show that some women are happy and proud to be working underground and they value the opportunity and the experience gained. However, although it is well over ten years since female miners started working underground in South Africa, not much has changed; they still face challenges regarding access to appropriate sanitation facilities and personal protective equipment and gear. Lack of personal development and training opportunities as well as lack of support from supervisors and management also remain a challenge for women working underground. Women have shown willingness to learn from their male colleagues. Another finding was that women felt unfairly treated by management. They raised the issue that their wellbeing as females underground is not taken seriously. Women want to see themselves progressing with regards to their careers in mining but it seems as though the required training opportunities are still lacking or not available compared to those available for men. Recommendations: Three main areas of concern specific to women should be addressed: health, safety and security, and cultural integration. After gaining some understanding of the challenges faced by women working underground at coal mines, occupational health nurses should be able to advice and support mine management regarding any policies that affect women in mining, and they should be able to implement a risk- and gender-based medical surveillance programme to help deal with specific health needs of women employees. A majority of women in the study voiced concerns about their safety underground. Women working underground face additional challenges because of their gender, especially when they are alone in dark areas. Mine management needs to address this issue and ensure that women are not exposed to dangerous situations that could lead to sexual abuse or even murder. Gender diversity and mining occupational culture training sessions should help employees and management to understand and respect each other. Future research is recommended regarding the integration of women into the coal mining industry’s male-dominated culture by means of appropriate support programmes. Conclusions: Some progress has been made in terms of what has been done to meet the Mining Charter requirements, but some mining industries appear to simply want to meet the target of 10% without understanding that employing women underground involves specific responsibilities and changes to work processes and to administration. Female miners still face issues of safety and security, ill-fitting PPE, and poor skills development programmes. Therefore, understanding their concerns and their experiences of working underground likely provides valuable information to mine management regarding the systems they could implement to assist with integrating female workers into the male-dominated mining industry.