The Perilous Nature of Mining Jobs and the Significance of Convention 176
Working in a mine poses life-threatening risks. According to the International Labour Organization (ILO), mining jobs expose workers to dangerous environments, making it one of the most hazardous occupations. Although mining accounts for only 1% of the global workforce, it accounts for 8% of fatal workplace accidents worldwide. Many of these jobs are precarious and fall short of international labor standards.
Mexico’s Role in Mining Safety
The ratification of ILO Convention 176 by Mexico is crucial for protecting mining workers. The Convention requires the formulation, implementation, and periodic review of a national policy on mine safety and health in consultation with employers and workers. It also grants the competent authority the power to suspend or restrict mining activities if safety and health risks are detected.
Regulation of Mining Work in Mexico
The Chapter XIII Bis of the Federal Labor Law (LFT) regulates mining activities, considering them workplaces but only mentioning coal mines. The law mandates employers to provide hygienic conditions, inform workers about risks, and supply appropriate personal protective equipment and ventilation systems.
Moreover, the law requires a worker count register, activity suspension when risks are present, and imposes fines ranging from 226,280 to 565,700 pesos for noncompliance or omission of safety measures.
How Convention 176 Complements the LFT
While the labor law addresses these obligations, ratifying Convention 176 extends mining workers’ rights to dignified conditions further. The international norm considers all mines, not just coal, as it includes exploration, extraction, and treatment of minerals (excluding gas and oil).
The Convention provides a more detailed framework on employers’, authorities’, and workers’ obligations, responsibilities, and rights. For instance, while the LFT allows workers not to perform services if confirmed by a mixed safety and health commission, Convention 176 permits workers to leave a mine if there’s “serious danger.”
Another significant aspect of the ILO agreement is guaranteeing workers’ right to report accidents, hazardous incidents, and risks to employers and authorities for safety and health inspections.
The Convention also addresses collective bargaining, medical services, protection against abandoned mine exploitations, and regulation of explosives and detonators manufacturing, storage, transportation, and use.
In Mexico, the NOM-023 outlines safety and health conditions for both underground and open-sky mines, addressing obligations, risk analysis, and emergency plans, training, and accident registration.
Mexico’s Path to Ratifying Convention 176
In July 2024, the Federal Executive—then led by Andrés Manuel López Obrador—submitted a ratification request for ILO Convention 176 to the Senate. However, it wasn’t until November 2025 that the Senate’s Commissions examined and approved the request. Now, the draft awaits plenary review in the Senate, with the Convention’s application set to take effect 12 months after deposit at the ILO.
