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Inter-RegionalKnowledge-Sharing Meeting onChi . Labour . d .rking o .in , SGM

Manila, Philippines28 - 30 May 2019

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I 11 Training Cenlie

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Backgro ridThe AsGM Sector

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The artisanal and small-scale gold mining (AsGM) sectoraccounts for 15 to 20% of annual global gold productionand provides employment to an estimated 10 to 15million miners and supports their 100 million dependentsworldwide. ' It remains a major source of livelihoods and asubstantial means of generating income in many developingcountries.

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The sector is associated with a myriad of labour issuessuch as hazardous working conditions that have led to highnumbers of work-related injuries, diseases and deaths. Otherlabour rights such minimum wage, freedom to form unions,social protection, among others, are alsQ being violated.Discrimination against females in employment is also presentin the sector. The poverty of families in mining makes themvulnerable to forced labour and human trafficking. It is alsoreported to be host to social ills like prostitution, drug abuseand illegal gambling.

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AsGM is also a major emitter of mercury global Iy, andthe Philippines is a leading emitter. The use of this toxicsubstance poses grave danger to the people working or livingin the mine site and in surrounding areas and contributesto environmental destruction. In the Philippines and inseven other countries, the GEF GOLD Programme - whichwill be launched in February 2019 - aims to reduce theuse of mercury in artisanal and small-scale gold mining(AsGM). It will contribute to addressing mercury pollutionfrom Artisanal Gold Mining. by helping gold miners replacetoxic mercury with cleaner techniques. The GEF GOLDProgramme will also help to improve access to finance andfacilitate formalization of the sector. Aside from mercurycontamination, AsGM operations are also blamed fordeforestation, land degradation and water pollution. The banof small scale mining in Ghana, for example, came out ofthese environmental issues supposedly caused by small scalemining.

Child labour is present in the different stages of mining inAsGM. Children can be found inside the tunnels or on the

surface collecting gold and hauling sacks of ore or smeltinggold. Evidence from various surveys and research studiesdemonstrates that mining is by far the most hazardous sectorfor children with respect to fatal injuries. 2 Aside from thework-related hazards, being in a mining site exposes thechildren to the different social ills previously mentionedabove and thus affects them emotionally, mentally andmorally.

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There are various global and local-level organizations workingto address issues in AsGM. The global private sector hasincreasingly been paying attention to issues associated withchild labour in gold production through the implementationof the OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible SupplyChains of Minerals. This standard clarifies how companiescan identify and better manage risks throughout the entiremineral supply chain, from miners, local exporters andmineral processors to the manufacturing and brand-namecompanies that use these minerals in their product.

A major factor underlying all these ills associated withAsGM is the informality in the sector. Most operationsin the sector are without permits and not covered bygovernment regulation. Needless to say such a conditionallows operations to continue without any regard for safetyand health standards and technical Iy-sound environmentalpractices. Governments and communities do not benefitfrom the mining operations as a result and corruption runsrampant. As AsGM operations avoid government contact,they are in most cases deprived of access to governmenttechnical support and important social services.

However, work to address child labour and other labourrelated concerns could better coordinated. There is the need

to expand knowledge and action to eradicate child labour inline with the principles of the relevant ILO Conventions, i. e. ,CL38 on minimum age and C182 on worst forms of childlabour, tackling the difficult small scale mining contexts onthe ground. Current efforts to address child labour in AsGMare not disseminated enough to guide the work of othergroups working in the sector.

The sector is thus an arena where the Fundamental

Principles and Rights at Work, i. e. , elimination of childlabour, abolition of forced labour, freedom of association

and the elimination of discrimination in employment, andother relevant ILO standards, particularly those related tooccupational safety and health, such as Convention 176on occupational safety and health in mines, Convention170 concerning safety in the use of chemicals at work, andRecommendation 194 concerning the List of OccupationalDiseases need to be heavily promoted.

I. United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), Reducing Mercury in Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining (AsGM). tittD. //bit lullJUroa3See U. S. Environmental Protection Agency, Reducing Mercury Pollution from Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining, httD I usa gov/IGO3v7Z2.1LO/IPEC, Children in hazardous work (what we know; what we need to do), Geneva, 2011

CARING Gold Mining Project

ILO is implementing a Project funded by the Us Departmentof Labor (Us DoL) called, Convening Actors to reduce childlabour and improve working conditions in AsGM (CARINGGold Mining). Its aim is to provide a venue for a whole rangeof stakeholders to develop solutions to address the issues ofchild labour and poor working conditions in the sector. This isa Global Project with pilots in the Ghana and the Philippines.

The Project's four components are^ I) improving laws, actionplans and enforcement mechanisms; 2) increasing accessof vulnerable AsGM communities to social protection andlivelihood programs; 3) developing monitoring systems alongAsGM supply chains; and 4) developing and supportingglobal networks that address labour issues in AsGM.

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While objectives I to 3 are to be achieved through country-level action in Ghana and the Philippines, objective 4requires both country-specific and global action, includingin other countries engaged in AGSM and with partnersoperating at the regional and global levels. This InternationalKnowledge-Sharing Meeting on Child Labour and WorkingConditions in AsGM is being organized under thiscomponent.

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The Event

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The focus of this Knowledge-Sharing Meeting, organizedunder the auspices of the International Training Center (ITC)of the ILO, will be on the issue of child labour and workingconditions issues in AsGM as they are linked to decent workand compliance with Fundamental Principles and Rights atWork for the workers, families and communities involved.

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concrete solutions to address the issues the CARING Gold

Mining Project is concerned about.

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The event to be conducted in Manila, Philippines, isorganized by the ILO with support from the following partnerswho will constitute the Technical Working Group (inG) alongwith ILO:

ILO Recommendation No. 204 concerning Transition fromthe Informal to Formal Economy underpins CARING GoldMining Project's strategy to promote formal Ization; this isseen by stakeholders as a key solution to address deficienciesassociated with the sector as well as a crucial step towardsreducing mercury use and improving safety and health inAsGM. ILO's standards and tools on occupational safetyand health (OSH), sustainable enterprises, child labour andinternational due diligence guidelines (in particular, theOECD Due Diligence Guidance) will also be highlighted.

Us Department of Labor (Us DOD;Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD); andUN Environment.

An Expanded Working Group (EWG) which will tackle broaderconcerns related to the event and which will be consulted on

important issues will also be constituted. It will be made upof the TWG members and the fpllowing:

There is a growing global movement to support the reviewand transformation of AsGM, from supporting formalization,review of ecological and SOCietal impact, to promotingthe use of social dialogue and due diligence tools at thedownstream level, as a means of resolving different issuesin the sector. There has been no gathering on AsGM up tonow that has been focused solely on labour issues, especiallychild labour. This meeting will be the first-ever that willtackle this theme and it is hoped to be contributing to rapidpractical responses in a sector that has one of the worstrecords in terms of social and ecological sustainability.

Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) of thePhilippines;Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR)of the Philippines;BanToxics;Ghana National Association of Small Scale Miners

(GNASSM);

. University of Mines and Technology (UMaT) of Ghana;

. International Council on Mining and Minerals (ICMM);' IndustriAll;

. Levin Sources;' Pact;

. Human Rights Watch; andAlliance for Responsible Mining (ARM)

The activity intends to provide global actors with theawareness and tools needed to better address child labour

and labour issues in AsGM as it relates to other fundamental

rights at work and themes like mercury-use in the contextof the Minamata Convention, environmental impacts, andpoverty as a whole. The Conference is envisioned to be agathering of experts on AsGM and those working on childlabour and other labour issues. It will also serve as a platformto eXchange knowledge and technologies and put forward

Objectives

The overall objective of this Knowledge-Sharing Meeting isto provide a platform for global actors to learn about ILOstandards and policy guidance and discuss issues of childlabour and working conditions -, particularly occupationalsafety and health - in AsGM and to further explore how thesecan be addressed.

The specific objectives of this meeting are as follows:

Clarify concepts of child labour, and increase awarenessof hazardous working conditions and other decent workcompliance issues in AsGM;76 set the tone for subsequent discussions, a commonunderstandihg among pathcipants about key conceptsrelated to the child labour and working conditibns IssuesIn AsGM is needed. It will also serve as an opportunity toclarify the Implibatibns of ILO Conventions relevant to theseissues on the work of stakeholders on the ground.Build agreements on mechanisms to increase coordinationand cooperation on resolving labour concerns in AsGM;Child labour and workihg conchtions Issues can only beaddressed effectiveIy If stakeholders Improve Goofdrnatibn

of Minerals. These sessions are meant to familiarize theat the global, national and local levels. An agreement Isneeded on a knowledge sharing platform, possibly through participants about key concepts in preparation for theDelta 8.7 and Alli^rice 8.7, to develop and foster greater succeeding discussions. The second day will be focusedcollaboration In this regard on sharing tools, approaches and good practices throughDisseminate knowledge and tools on how to identify and interactive sessions and panel discussions. These will beaddress issues of child labour and hazardous working designed to equip participants with the knowledge to developconditions in AsGM; their own solutions to problems of child labour and workingActors engaged in the flight against child labour and workihg conditions in AsGM in their own contexts. The third dayconchtions issues at various levels of the gold supply chai'n will be devoted to the planning of joint action, includingneed to know what standards, tools and knowledge are a knowledge sharing platform and other actions movingavailable for applibation of due din^ence in their work; and forward.EXchange information on good practices and operationalor intervention models to address child labour, workingconditions and related issues in AsGM;Actors engaged In the fight agar'nst child labour andworkihg condtions issues need also to hear the actualsuccess stories of proctitibners deanhg with these Issues onthe ground and the innovative models they have developed.

Ex ec ed Outcomes

At the end of the Knowledge-Sharing Meeting, it is expectedthe following will be produced:

An Outcome Document containing the highlights of themeeting and a summary of action points that will be pursuedafter the activity by ILO, its partners and the participants;

Agreements around the setting up of a knowledge-sharingplatform to continue discussions on issues and actionsrelated to child labour and hazardous working conditions inAsGM; and

A draft compendium of tools and good practices onaddressing child labour and working conditions issues inAsGM for eventual publication as a guide for practitioners

A Technical Working Group composed of ILO and theorganizations supporting the meeting will be organized tohelp in planning the details of the activity, especially onthe theme of the different interactive sessions and paneldiscussions.

Agenda and Methodology

Prior to the meeting, participants will be invited to sharefindings from research, promising practices, lessonslearned, and on-the-ground experiences of their respectiveorganizations on ASM and Human Rights, Child labour,forced labour and Qther Fundamental Principles and Rightsat Work.

The Meeting will be for three days with the first daydevoted to understanding the AsGM sector, clarifyingconcepts on child labour and working conditions andsetting the international cooperation framework in termsof relevant international standards and instruments, e. g. ,ILO's Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work, relevantInternational Labour Standards (particularly those related tooccupational safety and health such as C176 and CDO),the Minamata Convention, ILO MNE Declaration and OECDDue Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains

Venue, Date & Participants'Logistics

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT

International Training Centre of the ILOInternational Labour Standards, Rights at Workand Gender Equality (ILSGEN)Viale Maestri del Lavor0,1010/27 Turin - Italy

E-mail: IISgen@itcilo. orgWebsite: WWW. itcilo. org

The Conference will take place at the Hilton Hotel, NewportBoulevard, Newport City, Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippinesfrom 28 to 30 May 2019.

Up to one hundred (100) participants representinggovernment, employers' and workers' organizations, civilsociety organizations, miners' groups and their communities,AsGM supply chain actors and international organizationsengaged in efforts to address child labour and workingconditions in AsGM will be invited to attend.

Among this number, some fifty (50) national actors, fromcountries where child labour and/or working conditions inAsGM is known to be problematic, are expected.

Copyright @ International Training Centre of the International Labour Organization, 2019. All rights reservedDesign Luca F10re ITCILO, furin - Italy

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