[Translation prepared by Business & Human Rights Resource Centre]

Prosecutors of East Kazakhstan took on large enterprises, 18 June 2022

...[The] prosecutor's office of the East Kazakhstan region held an extended meeting of the board, at which they talked about the state of legality in the field of labour protection legislation and the results of inspections at the enterprises of Kazzinc LLP and Vostoktsvetmet LLP.

...The figures were disappointing and they even showed a documentary based on the results of the inspections, in which they especially noted the large number of violations of labour legislation, fire and industrial safety and sanitary standards.

- Issues of labour protection for Eastern Kazakhstan, which is a large industrial region in the republic, are especially relevant. As the analysis showed, over the past four years, occupational injuries in the region have remained almost at the same level, which is of serious concern. In 2019 there were 212 accidents at work, in 2020. – 209; 2021 – 204. For five months of the current year – 63. Disappointing statistics regarding fatal injuries. By year: 2019 - 14, 2020 - 23, 2021 - 23, for five months of 2022 - six,” noted the East Kazakhstan prosecutor.

In general, over the past four years, out of 688 accidents in the region, 174, or one quarter, occurred in mining enterprises. 66 people died due to industrial accidents....

- Only inspections of Vostoktsvetmet and Kazzinc, where 23 thousand people work, revealed over 1,200 violations. The main violations include: lack of lighting, air purification systems, fixtures, non-compliance with temperature conditions. Over 120 pieces of equipment with 100% wear and tear were also identified. Today the issue of hidden injuries is also relevant. We have identified 16 such facts. Along with employers who avoid responsibility, employees themselves do not report them. Covering up an accident at work will lead to the employer avoiding responsibility. Ultimately, the injured worker is deprived of the support provided by law. The fact is that employees themselves are often afraid to report injuries at work, they are afraid, they hide it. But this entails criminal punishment. That’s why we search hospitals, find injured people through medical cards and begin to investigate the case and bring the matter to an end...