Working conditions of E-Waste recycle industry Assignment PDF

Working conditions of E-Waste recycle industry workers in
Australia

Running Head: Report
Contents
Introduction............................................................................................................... 2
Critical Literature Review............................................................................................. 3
Methods Chapter......................................................................................................... 5
Research Findings....................................................................................................... 6
Analysis of Findings.................................................................................................... 8
Recommendations & Conclusion...................................................................................10
Limitation of the study............................................................................................... 13
References.............................................................................................................. 14
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Running Head: Report
Introduction
Electronic and electrical waste or e-waste are also known as waste electrical and
electronic equipment. It is defined as any end-of-life equipment which is dependent on
electromagnetic fields or electrical currents to work properly. Small and large household
appliances, lighting equipment, IT & telecommunications equipment, toys, medical
devices, electrical and electronic tools, batteries, circuit boards, automatic dispensers,
etc. are included in this. In Australia, till date, more than 22 million electrical or
electronic items have been classified as e-waste. In the year 2015, SUEZ recovered
223,825 tons of e-waste which included fluorescent tubes, gloves, batteries etc. While
recycling these products, pollutants are released and it affects the people present in the
nearby vicinity, especially the e-waste recycle factory workers.
This research paper is on the condition of the e-waste recycling industry workers in
Australia and human resource management involved in it. The workers don’t have much
power to negotiate the terms and policies related to their working conditions and later it
poses a health risk. This paper focus on the challenges and opportunities related to the
working condition of the e-waste recycle industry workers and how any kind of leverage
can be gained by them (Read, 2017). An analysis of the topic will be done and findings
will be discussed. In the end, recommendations and conclusion will be drawn. Various
policies and Acts of the government will be discussed for the health and safety of the e-
waste recycling industry workers. Also, the bargaining power, remuneration, and other
human resource management related elements will be discussed in detail (Bhutta,
Omar, & Yang, 2011).
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Running Head: Report
The aim of this research is to conduct a study on the working condition of the e-waste
recycles workers in the industry in Australia and how the companies and HRM is
handling them. Most of the workers are ignorant about their rights and benefits provided
by the company and Australian Government and keep on working in a hazardous
condition, which ultimately affects their health.
Critical Literature Review
E-waste is a critical issue at the global level. In Australia, the concern gets heightened
due to recycling practices in the industry due to environmentally and rudimentary unsafe
practices and they lead to the creation of massive pollution and toxic releases. In the
process of recycling and dismantling operations, the workers are exposed to different
kind of hazards. E-Waste recycling is considered as a lucrative business due to the high
economic value attached to the rare and precious metals found while recycling. Though
on one hand, it can be seen as a significant growth in the increasing number of e-waste
recyclers in Australia. On the other hand, studies have shown that there are life-
threatening risks to the employees in the absence of any kind of safety norms. Thus, it
becomes very important for the companies to ensure that the worker's safety and health
are protected and they are also imparted proper education about the safety procedures
and norms. International organizations, Government of Australia, State government,
Territory Government, etc. are actively working in the direction of proper
implementation of initiatives and regulations related to e-waste so that negative effect
can be prevented from the recycling industry (Kiddee, Naidu, & Wong, 2013). The e-
waste recycling industry is divided into two parts; formal and informal. The formal
recycling centre needs permission from the Government of Australia and there is a
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