On the International Day Against Child Labour on June 12, terre des hommes draws attention to child labour, corruption and concealment in the supply chain of the mineral mica
Osnabrück, June 10, 2022 – In India, around 30,000 children mine the mineral mica. Due to the COVID-19 lockdowns, which particularly affected poor Indian day laborers and forced their children to work, their number has increased by 8,000. In the mining areas of approximately 800 villages in the Indian states of Bihar and Jharkhand, children, like adults, dig shafts up to 20 meters deep and extract the mineral. Younger children sort the yield by size; the youngest are four years old. Shafts collapse repeatedly, often resulting in serious injuries and fatalities. The children have severe lacerations on their hands and suffer from respiratory illnesses due to the dust in the shafts.
In 2020, India accounted for approximately 30 percent of the global mica market, with a total value of US$57 million. The mineral is used in cars, electronics, building materials, and cosmetics. However, mica mining is illegal in the two main mining areas in the states of Bihar and Jharkhand. The terre des hommes investigation "Behind the Beautiful Facade" reveals that the supply chain is rife with corruption and concealment. Families sell the mica to local buyers, earning the equivalent of €1.40 to €3.60 per day. The mineral then passes through several intermediaries to processing plants that obscure its origin. While no children work in these processing plants, working conditions and wages are poor. Several owners told terre des hommes about having to pay regular monthly bribes to the police and authorities to continue operating. Shipments to the port of Kolkata are often carried out at night to evade police checks and further protection money payments. False documents are issued for export to conceal the illegal origin. German companies confirmed terre des hommes that they can currently only trace their mica supply chain as far as the importers.
terre des hommes is therefore calling on companies processing mica in the automotive, electronics, and cosmetics industries to examine their supply chains all the way back to the mining sites and to work together to legalize mica mining in Bihar and Jharkhand and ensure compliance with fundamental human and labor rights. To date, 70 companies are participating in the Responsible Mica Initiative, including BASF, L'Oréal, Merck, the Volkswagen Group, and Daimler. "It is time for a stronger, joint effort to finally legalize mica mining. The Indian government must implement labor rights and minimum wages in this sector as well and combat corruption. Only then can families achieve better prices and no longer be dependent on child labor," said Beat Wehrle, spokesperson for the board of terre des hommes . "We are therefore currently examining whether we can use the new supply chain law to encourage more companies to act responsibly."
Consumers currently have no way of knowing whether the mica in cars, cell phones, or cosmetics comes from legal sources. terre des hommes urges consumers to ask companies critical questions. "A boycott or replacement with synthetic mica won't help the affected children and their families, because they would lose their only source of income. We don't want to stop mica mining, but rather the exploitation," says Beat Wehrle.
terre des hommes is involved in the Responsible Mica Initiative and ensures that families can survive without the work of their children in 100 villages in the mica mining area in India, and that all children can attend school.
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