The Informalisation of Work: Illegal & Informal Mining from a Gender Perspective

Transcription

1 The Informalisation of Work: Illegal & Informal Mining from a Gender Perspective By Janet Munakamwe PhD Candidate, African Centre for Migration & Society University of Witwatersrand Funded by the International Centre for Development & Decent Work (ICDD) (Photos by Alexia Webster)

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3 Introduction The research examined the issue of cross-border migration, with particular reference to the working lives and career aspirations of women and men who are finding a livelihood by working informally in abandoned and closed mines in Johannesburg, South Africa. Informal mining is rooted in the political economy of migration & mining and those at the bottom end of this practice are precarious locals and migrants struggling to make a living N.B. It is important to point out that 'criminalisation' and illegality here is based on the mineral which is mined - in this case gold and also space where operations take place.

4 An overview of the mining sector in SA Mining -significant contributor to SA economy direct jobs and indirect = 1.3 million jobs (Chamber of Mines 2014) Contributes 16% towards national GDP; 8.2 directly and rest through multiplier effects, e.g. Investments, export earnings, taxes, procurement etc (ibid) Approximately, 2 or more billion rands/ annum are lost to the national economy through illegal mining of which if decriminalised, the national economy would benefit (Akua & Ingrid, 2014)[large corporates involved at the upper end of the commodity chain] 70% of arrested illegal miners are illegal immigrants (CoM 2014)[bureacratic immigration policies] Demographics: strong presence of women and children in IM; few men visible at the plant as many go underground and usually work at night

5 Objectives The presentation attempts to provide an understanding of women engaging in informal mining; their livelihood strategies, experiences, associated dangers and challenges in their everyday working lives from a broader perspective of the sector. To understand why people would return to what became known as the bloody shaft in reference to those that died, knowing the dangers associated with it. To interrogate the law as the major barrier to formalisation of small-scale informal miners & and how it criminalises them

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7 A criminal activity or livelihood strategy My study demonstrates that informal mining emerged mainly due to the following: a direct loss of formal employment in mining for thousands of both local & foreign workers; rising unemployment and poverty in South Africa; a narrowing of formal channels of entry, stay and work in South Africa for regional migrants; and finally a broader discourse of nationalism and xenophobia (Landau 2012). Together, these conditions shape the emergence and rise of informal mining as a survival strategy for the urban poor and migrants which is often poorly understood as a livelihood activity and instead criminalised and policed excessively.

8 Background 2011, forty miners died at an illegal mining shaft in the old mining town of Springs, east of Johannesburg. In 2013 a pregnant woman Mary collapsed and suffered a miscarriage whilst running away from police In 2013, another nineteen miners died at an illegal shaft ZM. A volcano errupted at ZM and the bodies were cooked and charred beyond recognition. The mine was later sealed with the dead bodies inside. In February of 2014, twenty five illegal miners died at Mag shaft in Roodeport, west of Johannesburg. Their colleagues volunteered to retrieve the bodies from underground to ensure a dignified burial for the dead miners. One cross-border woman was among those who died

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11 Methodology Ethnographic in nature, including direct observations and in-depth interviews with participants and key players in the illegal gold mining value chain. Ethnography (observations and shadowing since 2013 [see 12 Key informant interviews (union, Business, buyers) + 40 indepth interviews with participants Research site: Durban Deep, Braamfischer, Westrand, Johannesburg

12 Theoretical Framework Informal economy define informal mining as part of the informal economy which according to Chen (2002: 4) consists of all forms of informal employment that is, unregulated employment without labour or social protection both inside and outside informal enter- prises, including both self-employment in small unregistered enterprises and wage employment in unprotected jobs. the synergy between the informal and formal (structuralist perspective - Caroline Moser; Alexandra Portes and Castells, in the late 1970s and 1980s) My findings show that Chen s definition more appropriately characterize this sector Social Closure (Max Weber) which refers to the processes by which the access of certain social groups to various resources is granted or refused [ in this study, this refers to the exclusion and criminalisation of the poor at the expense of big businesses]

13 Challenges & Experiences of Women in ASM Police Brutality & police robbery Human trafficking and sometimes forced marriages Underground forced labour or slavery Taboos & beliefs associated with women going underground Health and safety issues Reproductive health problems [e.g miscariages,still birth] No workplace child care facilities Gender division of labour/problems and diseases Violence e.g. turf wars, rape (underground) Mine accidents, closures and fines

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15 Potential Benefits Female breadwinners (earn at least ZAR 100/ day or more (mutaka) meaning sand tribute Women to some extent have become assertive & in control of their lives in particular cross-border migrants Easy to enter unlike in the formal sector While dangerous, women can still take their babies and toddlers to their workplaces Intuitive skills earning and transfer

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17 Opportunities to promote gender responsive policy & practice in mining Generally, there is no clear policy or legislation to deal with informal mining in SA (see Precious Minerals Act of 1927) The DMR has established a Directorate of Small-Scale Mining to regulate the sector but with little progress Need to revisit the Mineral and Petroleum Resources Development Act (MPRDA) of 2002 to incorporate IM The 2004 Mining Charter - lack of progress in redressing the historical inequality and exclusion, due to a lack of clear targets and oversight mechanisms Favourable policies which translate IM into artisanal mining like what has occured in Zimbabwe, Tanzania & Ghana could be developed partly to create jobs and alleviate poverty including decriminalisation

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19 Best Practice Models The cases of Ghana (see Debra et al) Zimbabwe & Tanzania (see Zvarivadza 2014)

20 Possible initiatives The law poses as a major barrier and exposes miners in particular women working in the sector to human rights abuses in the hands of law enforcers Depth of SA mines in relation to ASM any possibilities? Need for a further regional collaborative research to investigate possibilities of translating the criminalised informal mining in South Africa into artisanal mining. Parallels can be drawn from other countries based on empirical evidence N.B. Artisanal mining involving (not so valuable) minerals like sand, clay already taking place in South Africa.

21 Conclusion Key players in the mining industry to explore ways in which a vibrant & small-scale mining industry could be stablished in SA based on the number of abandoned mines (formalisation) If formalised, workers like Maria, working under precarious conditions will be protected ASM proves to benefit the majority other than big business only Macro-economic policies need to respond to people s daily needs and at the same time, stimulate job creation [big business more focused on financialisation and cutting down employment opprtunities] The formal sector could harness the elementary technical skills acquired through the IM sector

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23 THANK YOU