Industry News
Natural stone industry under scrutiny
January 29, 2007
Children at work at an unaudited quarry in India. Quarries which are audited do not allow child labour, unsafe work practices, or subsistence wages.
Photo © Chris Harrop of Marshalls |
The growing international market for natural stone is beginning to raise important issues for importers and users of the materials.
Price may be a key-point for those using granites and other natural materials, but other factors are now attracting international intention.
Pavezone director Kerry Evans says users of imported natural stone should consider additional factors to price:
- Were quarry workers paid a fair wage for their work?
- Was child labour used in the operation?
- Are workers operating in a safe working environment?
- Is the quarry being managed in an environmentally sustainable way?
India and China are exporting increasing quantities of natural stone to Western nations.
Various studies around the globe have highlighted concerns about labour, trade, and environmental practices within the industry.
Buyers and suppliers of natural stone product have a choice. They can choose to source product on price alone, with the inherent risk of supporting undesirable environmental and labour practices, or insist on sourcing stone from businesses and quarries that are certified and audited.
In the case of the British-based firm, Marshalls, which supplies natural stone to Pavezone, the quarries are subjected to regular audits to ensure standards are met. In the case of China and India, Marshalls uses independent organizations to do the required certification and ensure that ethical standards are maintain.
How big is the problem of unregulated quarries? Problems uncovered in international studies reveal:
- Lack of regulation in the industry.
- Poor wages, unsafe working conditions, lack of collective bargaining, and, in some cases, the use of bonded labour.
- Quarries turning good farm land into barren wasteland.
- Deforestation.
- Pollution of groundwater.
- A lack of any rehabilitation of land once quarrying is finished.
There are an estimated 6000 types of natural stone used around the world in various applications, mostly marble, granite and slate.
While natural stone production in many European countries is static or in decline, the industry has undergone enormous growth in countries like
China, India, Brazil and Turkey.
In Europe alone, the importing of natural stone products amounts to 11 million tonnes annually.
Evans says Governments and local bodies are important consumers of natural stone products, and are beginning to pay much greater attention to the issues surrounding its quarrying and supply.
"It's understandable," he says. "No government or local body would want to be seen to be supporting poor industry practices in any part of the world. Aside from the social and economic issues, it would be very poor PR."
A number of international reports outline the seriousness of the problem.
Quarry workers are often indebted to their employers and work as bonded labourers. Their debts are often passed to their families when they die, with their children forced to seek work to pay them off.
Children begin working in quarries long before their 14th birthday, often doing dangerous work. Women and children earn less than men.
Long hours are the norm and accident rates are unacceptably high. Workers are rarely supplied with safety gear.
Workers have little legal protection and may be without work for weeks at a time if conditions, such as wet weather, put a stop to quarrying.
Some workers are given accommodation but it is often substandard, with poor drinking water, no electricity and a lack of any social and medical services.
Some quarries were found to be operating illegally in important habitat areas. Record-keeping is often poor, meaning authorities can prove little when investigating possible abuses.
Some operations do not pay taxes.
Kerry Evans says the issue comes down to social corporate responsibility, and it demands a pro-active approach.
"Change will only result if suppliers and importers demand change."
And that, he points out, will be pushed along if end-users begin asking questions of those suppliers.
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