Child labour and working conditions in artisanal small-scale gold mining

Gap analysis and recommendations on laws on child labour and working conditions in artisanal small-scale gold mining

The Artisanal and Small-Scale Gold Mining (ASGM) sector is considered “a vital contributor to the Philippine economy”. Studies estimate that 200,000 to 300,000 miners and their families in 20 to 30 provinces in the Philippines rely on ASGM as a primary source of subsistence Of the estimate, about 18,000 are women and children. By the ILO approximation, the number may be as many as 500,000 across the country.

The ASGM sector is said to have been producing an average of 30 tons, or about 80 per cent of the country’s annual gold supply. But amidst the glitter of gold and despite legislation on mining, environmental protection and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the ASGM sector remains wrought with problems - children and adults work in the most dangerous and hazardous of conditions, families and mining communities remain impoverished, and harmful and toxic mining practices continue to destroy the environment.