SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND HEALTH PROBLEMS OF WOMEN QUARRY MINERS



EXAMINE THE WORKING CONDITIONS AND ASSOCIATED SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND HEALTH PROBLEMS OF WOMEN QUARRY MINERS IN EBONYI STATE


CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1                       Background to the Study.
 Work is an area of life which has general health implications ( Bartley 2005 ; Martikainen, Maki and Jantt 2008 ), but there are specific health problems attached to each job activity, and these health problems abound in both informal and formal job engagements.  The concentration here is on the rural unskilled poor women who work in informal, unorganized sector of small-scale quarry mining. 
Gardner and Herz ( 1992 ), observed that some men and women are involved in undesirable work and working conditions, particularly in factories and industrial establishments. In some of the developing countries, these men and women in informal setting have no defined hours of work as most of them work very long hours ( Conton, 1999 ). Women who are poor and work in factories and other establishments are also exposed to harmful chemicals or radiation, with grave health risks for themselves and their unborn children ( United Nations 1997 ); and some of the serious problems that affect women’s well-being in work places have remained hidden ( National council of welfare , 1990 ).

 International Labour Organization ( 1993 ) observed that small-scale quarry mining is expanding rapidly and often uncontrollably in many developing countries, employing large numbers of women and children in dangerous conditions and generating workplace fatality rate of up to 90 times higher than mines in industrialized countries (Hinton 2003;  Hinton & Beinhoff 2003 ). While it is not certain how many deaths and accidents that occur in small-scale mines due to under-reporting and clandestine nature of much of the work, the risks of fatal and disabling accidents are high, particularly in underground mines ( National occupational health and safety, 2002 ). Although literature on quarry mining shows that men and women are exposed to the harmful effects in the mines, health hazards and degeneration of the health conditions of women is one of the most serious impacts of quarry mining, especially in the privately owned  mines that do not care about mining safety ( Tomb 1974;  International Labour Organization 1993; Asshforth, Kreiner & Fugate 2000; Kegan & Lahey 2009 ). Here, women’s health has to be understood from a larger perspective of direct and indirect impacts of the exposure of women to mine disasters and pollution as well as the reduction of their quality of life, because they are underpaid ( Demerouti, Bakker & Schaufeli 2005; Allen & Kraft 1980; Atkinson 1984; Barclay 1987; Blaxall & Regan 1976 ).
         
 Despite people suffering from several forms of ill-health; physical and mental, due to constant exposure to toxic wastes as a result of quarry mining, there is a gap in the availability of scientific studies and data on the health problems created by mining activities in developing countries and more so on women working in mining industry ( Venter 2002; Smit 2005; Ranchod 2001 ).  This has enabled mining industries to neglect their social responsibilities towards the employed and community where it is located; as these women fail to receive from the companies, sustainable livelihoods, from small incomes generated by their work, which equally is often not covered by health and safety insurance as most of the companies are illegally operated ( Ahmad 2002; Ashley 1999; Blaike, Terry & Ben 1994; Brock & Coulibaly 1999; Dwyer & Judith 1988 ). The aparty, lack of understanding, lack of political will and gross corruption of the government enhances the operations of these industries without interruption ( Matozi, 2003 ). As health issues are considered technical and scientific, the complaints through demonstrations and evidence from polluted communities and poor relationship of workers,  with mining operators, and their ill-health  are brushed under the carpet by law implementing, monitoring and judicial authorities, especially in the developing countries ( Yaro 2002; Weightman 2002; UNIFEM 2003; Marzano 2002 ), on the pretext of improper and inadequate scientific corroboration ( Gill 1987; Bose 2004; World Bank 2006 ). Pitted against these forces are the women in the quarry mining regions, whose health issues like; physical injuries, mining related diseases, death fatalities in the mines are marginally addressed in the developing countries, because of the companies illegal operations and  governments lack , in implementing rules and regulations guiding the companies operators ( Hogger 2004; Jayalakhsmi 2005; Heemskerk 2005 ).  Ranchod (2001) observed that the greater negative impact of quarry mining has been experienced by women , especially in developing nations, as most of the quarry mining activities have taken place in the rural areas, and the changes as a result, in the social and physical health of these women, have been fatal. They are already marginalized, as they face poverty and hardship, as well as extreme poor environmental conditions that offer little alternative resources for subsistence ( World Bank, 2004 ). International Labour Organization (2007), report, estimates that as many as 4 million of the world’s 13 million small-scale miners are women. It is estimated that millions of children and women work often in intolerable conditions, especially in the developing countries ( ILO, 2003 ), in Guinea, boys of 14 to 16 years of age work in the quarry mines at very low pay, digging gravel in trenches, removing water with buckets and diverting streams and rivers using sandbags. Surveys undertaken by ILO (2003) in Madagascar, Burkina Faso, Niger, Peru, Philippines and Tanzania found hundreds of children with their mothers in small-scale mines and quarries, many working as much as 10 to 14 hours, or more   per day alongside their impoverished family members, especially women. Following this introductory analysis on women quarry miners and their well-being, this work will focus on women in Ebonyi state  who work in small-scale quarry mines, with emphasis on quarry mining problems that hinge on their welfare with a view to suggesting strategies for dealing with these problems.

 1.2     Statement of the Problem.
 An ILO report (1999), stated that the impact of structural adjustment programs, drought on private and public sector employment, trading, farming and inflation have led many people, especially women who relied on subsistence agriculture to seek new, alternative or additional paid employment for better quality of life, more usually just to survive. Women constitute a large segment of workers in the informal mines all over the world (Ahmad 2002; Agarwal 1994; Fernando 2002), and Hinton (2003) estimated that approximately 30% are women. International Labour Organization (2007), estimates that as many as 4 million of the world’s 13 million small-scale miners are female; though many work part-time.
  In the developed countries, the participation of women in quarry mining and other mining activities have always been identified to be low compared to the developing countries (International Labour Organization 1993; 2000 & 2007). The report went further to specifically identify that women form 8 percent of the entire mining group in the developed west.  International Labour Organization (2007) noted that in Asia, the proportion of women workers is about 10 percent, with most of the activities limited to sorting, packaging and preparation of materials for shipping. The report also observed that in Latin America, the proportion is somewhat higher, with women accounting for anywhere from 10-20 percent of the workforce (ILO, 2007). Women in Africa are actively involved in processing of raw materials, including crushing, grinding, sieving, washing and transporting of minerals (Bryceson 2000; Ellis 1999; Ghose 2004). Also data from the International Labour office indicated that in the mid 1980 s, women in Zimbabwe mining industries were estimated to be up to 87 percent of the workforce showing a higher percentage of women’s participation in mining activity.          
 Although small-scale quarry mines employ a reasonable number of labourers in almost all the countries,  gender adds an altogether different dimension to it ( National council of welfare 1990; Nair 1997; Lahiri-Dutt 2000 ). Women are twice as many as men labouring in quarries and factories in developing nations, and part of the reasons include the myth of the, ‘nimble fingers’, that represent certain repetitive tedious and often back-breaking jobs ( Valdivia & Gilles 2001; Susapu & Crispin 2001; Srivasta 2005; Pervaiz 2003 ). According to Kunala (2000 ), female miners working on the Zimbabwean mines have been complaining about the mining equipment that seemed to be fit for 250 pound men. Mining equipment, such as drills, weigh hundreds of pounds, and these are not suitable for women , as it will affect their physical capacity to work till an advanced age ( Hentchel, 2001).
 Ghosh ( 1996 ); Ghose ( 2002 ); Hentschel, Hruschka & Priester ( 2002 ) observed in their work that local transportation of stone lumps from the pits is almost always done in head loads of baskets by women, whereas the technical jobs requiring skill or use of machines are almost always reserved for men. This led Fernando & Porter ( 2002 ) to note that the sheer physical burden of transportation on women has been noted as one area that needs immediate developmental intervention                         
                  
  Women in informal  setting , especially, in the small-scale quarry mine face long hours, hazardous work conditions and wages that are well bellow subsistence (Rajagopal,  2002). International Labour Organization, observed that women in the unorganized sector like in the small-scale quarry mines are expected to work beyond the formal working hours where there are no leave or crèche facilities, and this undesirable work timings, have significant impact on women’s well-being. Lahiri-Dutt ( 2003 ), observed that most of these women in the developing nations, especially in Africa work in large numbers in the mines, in risky environment, with little or no safety, at low wages. And the International Labour Organization ( 2003 ) observed that these women work for 10 hours or more and in most cases all through the night. The study also noted that the aftermath of this kind of situation is the deterioration in the health of these women as the body systems is stretched beyond normal functional capacity.
  The quarry mines in the developing nations as observed by the World Bank (2002) are ailed by numerous factors, including; a high degree of health, safety, and environmental risks. Although the study stated that it is impossible to say how many mishaps like; deaths and accidents occur in small-scale mines due to under-reporting and clandestine nature of much of the work; the risks of disabling accidents are high, particularly in quarry mines in the developing countries. Similarly ILO (2003) indicated that in developing countries, fatalities are estimated to occur in small-scale mines each year. In fact earlier studies by the International Labour Organization recorded between 1997 and 1998, reported fatalities in some areas. In China, out of 200,000 workers, there were 232 deaths, Pakistan had a fatality rate of 40 deaths, mostly women, Colombia 100, Tanzania 120, in Bolivia, 3 fatalities were estimated to occur each month, while Zimbabwe and other developing areas , have  a reputation for a disproportionately high number of fatalities due to lack of safety measures.            
  Women in the developing nations had been noted to constitute approximately more than thirty percent of the total labour force in the artisanal and small-scale mining ( World Bank, 2002 ). Nonetheless women generally derive far fewer benefits from artisanal and small-scale mining than their male counterparts, and are more vulnerable to the associated risks.  Herzfeld ( 2002 ), observed that women typically receive less money for their work, and are most impacted by the stresses on the traditional social structure introduced by small-scale quarry mining.  Although women are involved in many stages of quarry mining, they are rarely in a position to control or determine activities (ILO, 2003).  Most of these women at the time of leaving work due to old age or incapacity to work are left with heavy debts on account of repeated illnesses, medical expenses, and other domestic expenses which overshoot their incomes due to the low wages earned (Triest 1998; UNIFEM 2005). This is aggravated by the fact that some introduce their minor children into the mine workforce, thereby getting tangled into vicious trap of unending mine labour for the next generations   (Hentschel, Hruschka & Priester 2002; Hinton, Veiga & Beinhoff 2003; Hogger 2004).    
  A unique problem that has been identified about women who work in small-scale quarry mines is that some are exposed to sexual exploitation by the contractors , co-workers and other local men (Kalpagam 1994; Lahiri-Dutt 2003). Lahiri-Dutt specifically identified that women living in the mines are highly susceptible to sexual assaults when going to their fields. Such  atrocities on women mine workers are mostly carried out by migrant male mine workers, contractors, mine owners and even the management staff. As these rural poor women are classified as having low socio-economic status, they have little economic competitive powers and usually give in to sexual exploitation  ( Herzfeld , 2002 ). The sexual exploitation of these women quarry workers in most cases lead to diseases like HIV/ AIDS, other sexually transmitted diseases and unwanted pregnancies ( Osthus, 2007 ).                
  In the developing countries, there is always lack of concern from the authorities, who are not    committed to most of the legislations that are meant to protect the citizens where they exist 
( Amazigo, 1994; Berger & White 1999 ) ,  In Nigeria, like in most of other African  and developing nations, there are always cases of lack of responsibilities of  mining companies towards protecting, and ensuring proper health care for women and other mine workers (UNICEF, 2005 ).  UNICEF analysis observed that in most of the African countries , despite laws protecting the environment and safety of mine workers, their situation  has not changed or improved, nor are there benefits provided for the workers during accidents or disasters, which include the women who are identified to be in the majority in the mining sites.
 International Labour Organization ( 2007 ) , identified in its global report on artisanal and small-scale mining that women in Nigeria comprise about 75 percent of those involved in the sector. The report equally gave statistical percentage of  Guinea to be 75 percent, while in Madagascar, Mali and Zimbabwe , the figure is 50 percent, however, there is paucity of data on problems experienced by these women  miners in Nigeria and most of  the developing countries of Africa. And this gap in knowledge calls for a thorough study like this very one, to identify socio-economic and health problems women quarry miners experience, the well-being of women working in quarry mines of Ebonyi state, which will reflect the issues involved in other developing countries, with a view to proffering suggestions to mitigate the impact of the identified problems on the well being of women quarry miners. 

1.3      Research Questions.
       In order to articulate the problem further, the following research questions have been generated.
1.               What are the factors that influence women’s involvement in quarry mining?
2.               What is the nature of work that women in quarry mines undertake?
3.               Is the Ebonyi women quarry miners faced with long hours of work, hazardous work conditions and very low wages?
4.               Are the women quarry miners susceptible to sexual exploitation?
5.               Are there specific health problems which Ebonyi women quarry miners’ experience?
6.               Are there policies to mitigate the adverse working conditions and health problems women quarry workers experience?
7.               What strategies should be used to address the socio-economic and health problems experienced by women quarry workers?                  
       8.      Are there efforts from the government in monitoring the condition of workers who work in the quarry mines?

1.4     Objectives of the Study.     
 The main objective of the study is to examine the working conditions and associated socio-economic and health problems women quarry miners in Ebonyi State experience.
Specific objectives: the specific objectives of the study include the following:
1.         To ascertain the factors that lead Ebonyi women to quarry mining.
2.         To identify the type of work women undertake in quarry mines.
3.         To determine the hours Ebonyi women work in quarry mines and how it affect their health.
4.         To ascertain the working conditions of women working in quarry mines and determine whether there are health hazards involved.
5.         To determine if there are incentives for workers to increase their output.
6.         To determine if there are safety measures for protecting the health of women workers in quarry mines;
7.         To ascertain if sexual exploitation of women quarry workers occur in quarry mines.
8.          To suggest measures for dealing with the problems women workers experience in quarry mining, in order to improve their well-being.
9.         To find out if there is any form of government presence in monitoring the condition of workers in the quarry mines.
10.     To find out if there are policies by the government and quarry owners in dealing with the worker’s working condition.       
  
1.5    Significance of the Study.       
The importance of this study will be measured on the theoretical and practical levels. On the theoretical level, the findings of this work will contribute to knowledge on women working in quarry mines with specific insights on the Ebonyi women quarry miners. Specifically, the study will provide information on leading factors,  on why they work in quarry mines ; the kind of work women carry out in the quarry mines, the hours they work and whether it is suitable for their continual participation at the mine sites. This work will equally be very important in highlighting whether there are discriminating tendencies against the women , issues of sexual exploitation, as well as the implications of the working conditions on the health of women in quarry mines.
              
  On the practical side , this work will be useful for policy makers involved in formulating policies on women’s work, not only in Ebonyi state, but throughout the country. Also the information that will be provided by this work will make the government and other agencies to pay attention to some of the issues raised about quarry mining activities and take immediate measure toward addressing them. The findings will also be useful to those formulating policies and programs to improve the general health status of women quarry miners in Nigeria.

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