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.