The Impacts of COVID-19 on the Coal Mine Laborers of District Shangla

Abstract

Coal mining plays a significant role in a country's economic growth. Unfortunately, coal mine laborers have remained a marginalized workforce in Pakistan. The situation is exceedingly dismal, even in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The dwellers of the outskirts of district Shangla, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, are primarily working in the coal mines of different parts of the country. The coal mine laborers of district Shangla were inflicted with hardships due to the outbreak of COVID-19. This study primarily focuses on the challenges the coal mine laborers faced during COVID-19. The study is qualitative, and primary and secondary sources are used for data collection. Purposive sampling was used for conducting interviews with different respondents. Collected data is analyzed through narrative analysis to determine coal mine laborers' challenges. The research also follows the conceptual paradigms on violent structural oppression while investigating different practices with which the laborers are oppressed and exploited. Through in-depth interviews with the respondents and reviewed literature, this study discovers and uncovers that COVID-19 impacted laborers regarding health and economic deprivation and created hurdles in their easy movement during the COVID-19 pandemic.