Tripartite Meeting on Social and Labour Issues
in Small-scale Mines

Geneva, 17-21 May 1999

This meeting was one of a regular series of tripartite sectoral meetings — comprising representatives of governments, employers and workers — held under the auspices of the International Labour Organization to discuss current employment and labour issues of importance in the industry concerned and to provide guidance for action, at national and international levels, by employers’ and workers’ organizations, governments and the ILO itself.

Participation

The participants represented governments, employers and workers from the world of mining in 36 countries. In addition, observers from IFC, UN, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNIDO, the World Bank and from representative employers' and workers' organizations attended.

Purpose and output

The meeting provided a forum for the exchange of views on selected labour issues in small-scale mining. It adopted unanimously conclusions on social and labour issues in small-scale mines that include proposals for follow-up action at the national and international levels; a resolution on fundamental Conventions of the International Labour Organization and future activities of the ILO in small-scale mines; and a report on the proceedings.

Three informal panel discussions were held on:

• Activities of selected international organizations in small-scale mining (ILO-IPEC, UN, World Bank);
• An environmental approach to improving working and living conditions in small-scale mines;
• Small- and large-scale mines: How to get along better.

Report and Working Papers

As a basis for the discussions the International Labour Office prepared a book-length report - Social and labour issues in small-scale mines - containing statistical and other information and an analysis of the topic. This 100 page report is also published in French and Spanish.

It deals with the following issues: setting the scene for small-scale mining (including production, employment, economic impact, major issues in small-scale mining, and organizations for small-scale miners); occupational health and safety (including mining, mineral processing, mercury, community health); women in small-scale mining (including extent of participation, constraints and overcoming constraints); child labour in small-scale mines; legislation; interaction between large and small mines; and assisting small-scale mines.

The “Points for discussion” at the end of the report constituted the main agenda of the meeting.

Also, five working papers were published in hard copy to coincide with the meeting. Two of these documents - Jennings, Norman S. (ed.): Small-scale gold mining: Examples from Bolivia, the Philippines & Zimbabwe and Jennings, Norman S. (ed.): Child labour in small-scale mining: Examples from Niger, Peru & the Philippines - are edited versions of case studies that were commissioned as part of the process of gathering information for the report.

The other three working papers are the case studies from Niger, Bolivia and Peru (mentioned above) which have been published in their original language.

The Note on the proceedings, which contains the outputs from the meeting, a summary of the panel discussions and a list of participants, has been recently published in English, French and Spanish. A paper "Small-scale mining: a sector in need of support" by Norman S. Jennings has been published as a briefing paper in the section of the Mineral Resources Forum that deals with the environment.

Contact address for more information

Mr. Norman Jennings,
Sectoral Activities Department,
International Labour Office,
4, route des Morillons,
CH-1211 GENEVE 22 -- Switzerland
Tel. +41.22.799.7529, Fax +41.22.799.7967,
e-mail: jennings@ilo.org or sector@ilo.org