A new global union
named IndustriALL has begun their first online campaign, aiming to pressure the
Spanish government to negotiate with coal miners who have been on strike, and
occupying their mines, for several weeks now.
George Orwell wrote the most compelling account of life down the mine that I have ever read and the Chilean miners disaster and subsequent rescue in October 2010 taught us about the grim reality of the working life of underground miners.
2 comments:
I've just read the Orwell description you linked to, which I hadn't come across before. A hell of a way to make a living. And now to be told you're not needed any more...
In Britain to be a miner was a part not only of your own identity but of your community as well. It was a very hard thing to lose in the 80's, whatever the economics of the situation. I imagine it's the same here.
Yes, market forces let loose can be one of the cruelest forces on the planet. Orwell had an ability to get to the visceral in a way that few have. Shakespeare regularly did.
I have a great respect for those who do hard physical labour, only partly because I am a coward and would rather run a mile than dig for a hole for 10 minutes.
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