DRC women artisanal miners face exploitation as unions seek better working conditions

Over 32 000, including 1045 women are working on the site, which is mined by the Mutoshi COMIAKOL (cooperative for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM), under deplorable health and safety conditions as witnessed during a visit by IndustriALL Global Union.

Research by IndustriALL entitled Exploring the DRC cobalt value chain: Challenges, opportunities and stakeholder engagement confirms the conditions:

"Women artisanal miners work in and around cobalt and copper mining sites in harsh conditions on unsustainable artisanal exploitation zones with inadequate sanitation. In their work they very often use dirty water, which makes them particularly vulnerable to diseases, such as urogenital infections, skin diseases, vaginal mycoses, warts and irregular menstruation." In addition, the women are often victims of discrimination, intimidation, and gender-based violence due to prejudices and stereotypes related to harmful cultural practices.

Women artisanal workers exploitation is an example of the brutal nature of ASM where the miners use basic tools, have no personal protective clothing, no adequate remuneration, no social protection and do not enjoy rights enjoyed by workers in the formal sector as per national mining code and international labour standards. To end this, unions are calling for formalization of ASM.

The ASM pits have depths of over 30 meters, with electric winches hoisting the rocks to the surface as well as taking miners underground. After processing, the cobalt is then bagged into sacks ready for the depots where each sack is sold for around US$75 depending on the quality according to the workers. State-owned Gecamines buys the cobalt from the cooperative.

The DRC's ASM produces over 30 per cent of the cobalt produced in the country which is globally in demand as one of the materials for battery manufacturing for electric vehicles.

"Organizations have come to this site to film and interview workers. We have seen ourselves on television and on social media. But we are not a museum, we are human beings and workers. We hope that all this publicity will contribute towards changing our working conditions," said one of the women workers.

Constantin Grund, FES resident representative for the DRC said:

added Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining and diamonds.

The site visit is part of a series of meetings with unions working on critical energy transition minerals included round table discussions. IndustriALL affiliates in the DRC are Organization des Travailleurs du Congo (OTUC), Secrétariat des Syndicats IndustriALL de la CDT (SSI-CDT), Travailleurs Unis des Mines, Métallurgies, Energie, Chimie et Industries Connexes (TUMEC), Secrétariat des Syndicats de IndustriALL (SSI-CSC), and Secrétariat IndustriALL Global (SIG-UNTC).

The meetings are part of IndustriALL battery platform which identified issues and challenges on workers' rights and created discussion forums with key stakeholders, including in the ASM sector to provide knowledge and tools on human rights due diligence and decent work in the battery supply chains.