Seventy years after the Marcinelle disaster, the San Marino Confederation of Labour (CSdL) is renewing the memory of the 262 victims of the Bois du Cazier mine, reiterating its call for workplace safety to become a priority across Europe and the rest of the world.
In a statement released to mark the anniversary, the union recalls that “On 8 August 1956, one of the most serious workplace tragedies in postwar Europe took place: the Marcinelle disaster, at the Bois du Cazier mine in Belgium, in which 262 miners from various countries died, 136 of them Italian.”
The CSdL underscores the importance of remembrance as a tool for strengthening commitment to accident prevention and the protection of workers’ dignity.
“The CSdL takes part in remembering the many victims and joins in spirit the solidarity events organized in Belgium and other European countries to keep alive the memory of this tragedy, so that it may be translated into an ever-stronger commitment to protecting the lives and safety of working people and the dignity of those forced to emigrate in order to survive or find better living conditions,” the statement reads.
The union points out that, despite the progress made in recent decades, fatal accidents continue to occur across many sectors.
“Many mines in Europe have been closed, and those that remain are safer than they once were, yet people continue to die at work: on construction sites, in factories, on the roads, in the fields. In Italy alone, for example, fatal workplace accidents have numbered well over a thousand, nearly a third of them occurring during commutes. A veritable slaughter! We must also not forget the many thousands of other workplace accident victims who are left permanently disabled.”
For this reason, the Confederation is calling for a strengthening of workplace safety policies.
“Europe and individual states must step up their commitment to establishing workplaces free from risks to workers’ life and health, investing in policies to make all work environments safer and to prevent accidents, and adopting an effective system of sanctions and inspections capable of acting as a genuine deterrent.”
The statement also recalls the connection between the Marcinelle tragedy and the Republic of San Marino. In those same years, many Sammarinese worked in the Belgian mines, under an agreement between the two countries signed in 1951 and finalized in 1955.
“In those very years when the tragedy occurred, many Sammarinese emigrants were working in Belgium’s coal mines, under an official agreement between San Marino and Belgium signed in 1951 and finalized in 1955. No Sammarinese lost their life at Marcinelle, but our Republic shared deeply, with great solidarity, in the grief that struck Italy in particular; San Marino’s Institutions sent messages of condolence to the Italian government and people.”
