International Migrant Workers in the Mining Sector Mylène CODERRE-PROULX, Bonnie CAMPBELL and Issiaka MANDÉ International Migrant Workers in the Mining Sector International Migrant Workers Labour Migration Branch ILO International Migrant Workers in the Mining Sector International Migrant Workers in the Mining Sector by Mylène Coderre-Proulx, Bonnie Campbell, Issiaka Mandé Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en développement international et société (CIRDIS) Université du Québec à Montréal International Labour Organization – Geneva Copyright © International Labour Organization 2016 First edition 2016 Publications of the International Labour Office enjoy copyright under Protocol 2 of the Universal Copyright Con- vention. Nevertheless, short excerpts from them may be reproduced without authorization, on condition that the source is indicated. For rights of reproduction or translation, application should be made to ILO Publications (Rights and Licensing), International Labour Office, CH-1211 Geneva 22, Switzerland, or by email: [email protected]. The International Labour Office welcomes such applications. Libraries, institutions and other users registered with a reproduction rights organization may make copies in accordance with the licences issued to them for this purpose. Visit www.ifrro.org to find the reproduction rights organization in your country. Coderre-Proulx, Mylène; Campbel, Bonnie; Mandé, Issiaka. International migrant workers in the minig sector / Mylène Coderre-Proulx, Bonnie Campbel, Issiaka Mandé; International Labour Office, Sectoral Policies Department, Conditions of Work and Equality Department. – Geneva: ILO, 2016. ISBN 978-92-2-128887-9 (print) ISBN 978-92-2-128888-6 (web pdf) International Labour Office. Sectoral Policies Dept.; International Labour Office. Conditions of Work and Equality Dept. migrant worker / international migration / miner / mining / case study / Australia / Chile / Mali / New Caledonia / Papua New Guinea / Zambia 14.09.2 ILO Cataloguing in Publication Data The designations employed in ILO publications, which are in conformity with United Nations practice, and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the Interna- tional Labour Office concerning the legal status of any country, area or territory or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers. The responsibility for opinions expressed in signed articles, studies and other contributions rests solely with their authors, and publication does not constitute an endorsement by the International Labour Office of the opinions expressed in them. 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Code: DTP-CAD-REP Foreword Particular branches of the economy provide a significant source for work for internal and international migrants seeking temporary or permanent employment opportunities away from their home communities. In turn, migrants are a vital source of skills and labour for several economic sectors. However, the important links between migration and labour markets, including the quantity and quality of jobs, are often ignored or not well understood, nor do we know much about the diversity of situations in different sectors as concerns migrant employment. In the recent past, ILO constituents have voiced keen interest in learning more about migrant workers in particular economic sectors, and this for various reasons ranging from concern over the working conditions of migrant workers to the desire of increased cross-border labour flows with a view to improving labour allocation and gaining efficiency. This study is part of a larger ILO effort to close knowledge gaps regarding labour issues in economic sectors where migrant workers can be found in considerable numbers, such as agriculture, construction and mining. This report by Mylène Coderre-Proulx, Bonnie Campbell, and Issiaka Mandé (Centre interdisciplinaire de recherche en développement international et société (CIRDIS), Université du Québec à Montréal) focusses on the employment of foreign workers in the mining industry and highlights the different contexts in which labour migration to this economic sector takes place. The report provides a review of the literature docu- menting migrants’ contribution to mining globally and identifies key trends in three regions: Africa, Latin America and Asia. Six national case studies, covering Australia, Chile, Zambia, Mali, Papua New Guinea, and New Caledonia, explore the wide range of mobility patterns related to the mining industry, including also migration flows that are stimulated indirectly by mining activities. The authors point to the fragmentation of data concerning the number and working conditions of migrant workers in the mining sector at a country and regional level. A serious lack of information exists in particular regarding workers in the low-skilled category. They call for devoting much more close attention to the issue of migrant workers in this sector, echoing the voices of selected employers, union officials and government staff who they interviewed for the purpose of this research. This is a joint publication by the Labour Migration Branch of the Conditions of Work and Equality Department of the ILO and by the ILO’s Sectoral Policies Department. We wish to express our thanks to Christiane Kuptsch, Senior Specialist in Migration Policy, and Martin Hahn, Senior Specialist Mining, Basic Metal Production, for their conception of and guidance on this project. Alette van Leur Manuela Tomei Director Director Sectoral Policies Department Conditions of Work and Equality Department Acknowledgments We wish to thank Alfousseyni Diawara, Catherine Coumans, Claire Levacher and Angel Saldomando, the authors of four of the case studies, Magnus Ericsson, Wilfred Lombe, Moussa Etienne Touré, Kô Samaké and Amadou Keita for their very helpful comments, Bernadette Mwakacheya for her kind support, Suzie Boulanger for her invaluable administrative assistance, as well as all the respondents to the interviews. The ideas expressed here and the errors which they may contain are the sole responsibility of the authors. Executive summary The report entitled International migrant workers in the mining sector seeks to draw attention to the wide range of issues raised by the presence of foreign migrant workers in the mining industry, as well as to the very different contexts in which labour migration to this economic sector takes place. The question of inter- national migrant workers in the mining sector covers a wide variety of patterns of mobility and, as well, raises political, legal, economic and social issues with consequences which have clearly not attracted the attention they merit. The report provides an overview of this theme but also aims to point to certain areas where infor- mation is either lacking or very fragmentary and consequently merit close attention and which clearly need further research. In order to do so, the report firstly underlines the main characteristics of the mining sector and its impact on employment. Second, a brief review of the literature on international migration is provided in order to highlight the gender and skills dimensions of migrants in current migratory flows, as well as cer- tain of the main theoretical concepts which are proposed to apprehend these issues. In order to give a very brief overview of the very wide variation of situations pertaining to this subject across the world, this section concludes by presenting examples of academic studies and certain key trends they identify in three regions: Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The third section, which is the core of the report, illustrates the wide range of migration patterns related to the mining industry by exploring 6 national case studies which are Australia, Chile, Zambia, Mali, Papua New-Guinea and New-Caledonia. Based on interviews with selected employers, government representatives and unions, as well as on the literature review which was conducted, this report reached a series of observations and conclusions, many of which were formulated by those interviewed, including the following: ¾ There is a very important lack of information concerning the number and working conditions of migrant workers in the mining sector at a country and regional level, and this is especially the case concerning low-skilled migrant workers. When data exists, the information it provides is often very fragmented and incomplete. ¾ When analysing international labour migration in the mining sector, it is relevant to consider also migration flows that are stimulated indirectly by mining activities because the mining industry is a sector in which