DOWN IN THE PITS… CHILDHOOD SHATTERED

2005 World Day against Child Labor (WDACL) -Child Labor in Mines and Quarries

The monstrous wickedness of innocent children breaking their bodies and souls in mines and quarries for decades has been shrugged off by employers and hushed up by governments. In spite of international conventions and declarations, especially the ILO Convention 182 on Worst Forms of Child Labor (prohibiting the use of children in mines and quarries), children are found working in these industries throughout the world. Although mining and quarrying are two of the most dangerous and unhealthy occupations, it is apparent and widely accepted that child and adolescent laborers are becoming more, not less, common in the mining and quarrying industries.

· Nearly 13 million the world’s poorest people work in artisanal and small-scale mining and an estimated 100 million depend on it for their livelihood.

· An estimated one million children are working in small scale mining and quarrying around the world.

Children mine a wide range and large quantities of minerals – ranging from gold and precious stones to zinc, coal, mica, and bauxite. Rock quarrying, especially near booming cities and construction areas, are hubs of child labor as well as bonded and forced labor.

Intergenerational bondage is a common feature in stone and rock quarrying mines of South Asia. From dusk to dawn, there are rarely limits to the length of the day these children spend working in mines and quarries, especially in artisanal and small-scale mining. This work is labor intensive, low paying, and extremely hazardous. For most children, their labor is debt bondage or bonded labor.

The health and development of child miners is jeopardized by deep and poorly reinforced pits, poor ventilation, excessive noise, intense vibrations from machines, excessive heat or cold, high humidity levels, awkward working positions, and extremely arduous work. Deaths from explosions or cave-ins are not uncommon and there is a constant threat of respiratory illnesses, dust, or gas poisoning. In many cases, first aid and medical facilities are neither available near the workplace, nor considered an option by the employers.

There are nearly equal percentages of girls and boys working in mines and quarries, but what makes the situation more precarious for the girls is the rampant exploitation, both mental and physical from the mine owners, contractors, as well as other miners. In India, in the age group of 5-14, girls form 40 percent of the workforce; in the 15-19 years age group, they form 27 percent.

Snake Boys of Tanzania

The pits, used to mine Tanzanite, can be up to 50m deep and tunnels can be 300m long, unventilated, and extremely hot. The Nyokas (Swahili for snake) are so-named because they crawl through underground tunnels like snakes. These boys breathe harmful graphitic dust in the tunnels and can work for up to 18 hours at a time on only one meal of bread and boiled cassava, earning the equivalent of less than US $1 per day.

Children mine diamonds, gold, and precious metals in Africa; gems and rock in Asia; and gold, coal, emeralds and tin in South America.

In Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador some 65,000 children of both sexes work in mining, especially gold, silver, tin and zinc, and 135,000 are at risk of getting sucked into this activity. Peru is the largest gold producer in Latin America and ranks number seven worldwide. Gold is the country's main export and 13 percent of their export, some 15 tons a year, comes from small-scale mining activities with an export value of U.S. $120 million per year. The U.S. accounts for 26 percent of all exports from Peru.

The situation is grim but not irremediable. The WDACL is not just a one-day event, but also, a platform to campaign to end child labor from mines and quarries.

Call for Action!!

We must work together to bring light to the girls and boys toiling in deep, dark, claustrophobic and hazardous mines and quarries.

Global March Calls on All Governments to:

· Ratify and implement ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor.

· Establish and vigorously enforce legislation to protect children from work in mining and quarrying.

· Stop trade exports of mining and quarrying products suspected to involve children.

· Allocate funds for rehabilitation and education of children engaged in mining and quarrying.

Global March Calls Regional, Sub-Regional, Multilateral and Bilateral Organizations to:

· Set up significant funds for advocacy, prevention, rehabilitation, and reintegration projects to combat child labor in mines and quarries.

Global March Calls on Trade Unions to:

· Bring the small and artisanal mines and quarries under the umbrella of the unions.

· Report, withdraw, and educate children found to be engaged in mining and quarrying.

· Lobby for the ratification and implementation of international conventions and government laws on child labor and minimum age of employment.

Global March Calls on All People to:

· Educate themselves on the issue of child labor in mines and quarries and report any incidents of such crimes to appropriate authorities and to concerned non-governmental organizations.

Produced by the Global March Against Child Labor: www.globalmarch.org, 2005.