Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on - Ã–ko-Institut eV

More documents

Recommendations

Info

32 August 2010 <strong>Socio</strong>-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>feasibility</strong> <strong>study</strong> on sustainable e-waste management in Ghana Due to the informal nature of the e-waste recycling sector in Ghana, most of the workers do not have any fixed working time in terms of hours per day or per week. Recyclers in the Agbogbloshie scrap yard were found to work between 10–12 hours per day, even on weekends. This implies 30 work days or 300 to 360 work hours per month. They reported to take a day off occasionally in cases of health or family related matters albeit without getting paid for those specific days. Furthermore, e-waste recycling activities are not organised in strict production lines, so that individual workers may arrange working hours <strong>and</strong> rest periods to their specific needs (Manhart 2007). These rest periods or breaks rarely exceed 30 minutes per day. Similarly, collectors were also found to work for about 10–12 hours per day, i.e. 300 to 360 hours per month. Collectors who also engage in dismantling / recycling activities generally try to reserve the latter part of the working day, mostly after 4 PM, to dismantling / recycling. This implies that they spend about 6–8 hours per day with the collection of e-waste from various parts of the town, <strong>and</strong> 2–4 hours per day for dismantling / recycling. The refurbishing <strong>and</strong> repair part of the value chain seems to have more regular working hours, generally ranging from 8–10 hours per day. Refurbishers also reported to take a weekend, mostly Sundays, as a holiday. Furthermore, most of the interviewees mentioned to be able to have holidays on Ghanaian national holidays. This fact is related especially to the aspect of sales of refurbished <strong>and</strong> repaired EEE to private <strong>and</strong> corporate consumers <strong>and</strong> pre-defined opening <strong>and</strong> closing times for the shops in residential <strong>and</strong> commercial areas in Ghana. Furthermore, mid-day meal breaks of 30 minutes to 1 hour per day were found to be prevalent. Therefore, monthly working hours for refurbishers can be assumed to lie somewhere between 210 to 260 hours. The following table summarizes the findings on the working hours: Table 4 Working hours for the people engaged in refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling business in Ghana (Source: Own calculations) Refurbishers Collectors Recyclers Working hours per day 8–10 10–12 10–12 Working hours per month 210–260 300–360 300–360 As a comparison, reports on labour conditions of workers employed in the computer manufacturing in China, have revealed similar trends. In computer manufacturing in China, workers were found to work between 10–12 hours per day, 6–7 days per week, which implies about 80 to 200 overtime hours per month (SACOM 2008). 3.2.8 Employment security Only a very minor section of workers in the refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling sector holds formal labour contracts. Such workers were found to be engaged only in some high-end refurbishing businesses. In the e-waste recycling <strong>and</strong> collection part, none of the inter-
<strong>Socio</strong>-<strong>economic</strong> <strong>assessment</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>feasibility</strong> <strong>study</strong> on sustainable e-waste management in Ghana August 2010 viewees had formal labour contracts. The employment turn-over in the e-waste recycling sector was observed to be very high, ranging between 3–7 years, primarily because of low incomes, but also due to lack of employment security. However, employment perspectives for workers in refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling business can be assumed to be positive due to following reasons: � The EEE <strong>and</strong> e-waste volume in Ghana is growing steadily � Labour intensity continues to be high in the informal refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling structures (Widmer et al. 2007). Nevertheless, there are recent attempts to formalize certain e-waste recycling systems in Ghana (see chapter 4.3) which includes the reform of the established collection, disassembly <strong>and</strong> management of hazardous substances. Such a step could lead to a vast replacement of the existing e-waste recycling structures, hence endangering employment securities for many people working in this sector. 3.2.9 Social security Due to the informal character of the sector most employees of the refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling sector are not covered by health <strong>and</strong> unemployment insurances, <strong>and</strong> old age pensions schemes. Nevertheless, many interviewees emphasized the contribution of widespread family structures in e-waste recycling businesses in Ghana. As most of workers in the e-waste recycling sector have their origin in northern Ghana, they are keen on employing friends <strong>and</strong> relatives, sometimes as apprentices, from the same region <strong>and</strong> communities. In such cases, many interviewees reported of availing certain benefits in cases of emergencies, such as medical help, from their employers. These benefits range from financial <strong>and</strong> material help to providing holidays, albeit unpaid, to the workers. 3.2.10 Professional development Possibilities of any kind of professional development have hardly been explored for the workers of the informal e-waste recycling sector in Ghana. Often, owners of refurbishing enterprises employ interns for certain tasks. Such tasks range from learning <strong>and</strong> conducting technical work to typical household tasks (cleaning, washing etc). Generally, interns are not provided with any remuneration. On the contrary, interns are supposed to pay the owners occasionally a “token” charge for providing the opportunity to learn technical skills. In majority of the cases, interns are provided with shelter <strong>and</strong> food by the owners. The current nature of jobs in the refurbishing <strong>and</strong> e-waste recycling sector can easily be fulfilled by low-skilled workers. 17 During the interviews of recyclers, collectors <strong>and</strong> refur- 17 Generally, workers of the e-waste recycling sector in Ghana have a very low education level as a majority of the interviewees were found to be either illiterate or at the most with a primary or Junior Secondary School 33
Page 1 and 2: Socio-econ
Page 39: Socio-econ
Page 91 and 92:
Socio-econ
Page 93 and 94:
Socio-econ
Page 95 and 96:
Socio-econ
Page 97 and 98:
Socio-econ
Page 99 and 100:
Socio-econ
Page 101 and 102:
Socio-econ
Page 103 and 104:
Socio-econ
Page 105 and 106:
Socio-econ
Page 107 and 108:
Socio-econ
Page 109 and 110:
Socio-econ
Page 111 and 112:
Socio-econ
Page 113 and 114:
Socio-econ
Page 115 and 116:
Socio-econ
Page 117 and 118:
Socio-econ
show all

Socio-economic assessment and feasibility study on - Ã–ko-Institut eV

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?