E-Waste Recycling Industry Worker Conditions in Australia Report

This report investigates the working conditions of e-waste recycling industry workers in Australia. It examines the hazards faced by workers in both formal and informal sectors, including exposure to toxic substances and unsafe working environments. The report analyzes the lack of worker awareness regarding their rights, benefits, and the absence of proper training. It highlights the role of government policies, the challenges related to human resource management, and the impact on worker health and safety. The study employs secondary research, including government reports, academic journals, and industry publications, to provide an in-depth understanding of the issues. The findings reveal significant problems related to worker safety, health, and compensation, especially within the informal sector. The report concludes with recommendations for improving working conditions, emphasizing the need for enhanced training, stricter enforcement of safety regulations, and increased worker awareness to mitigate the risks associated with e-waste recycling.

Working conditions of E-Waste recycle industry workers in Australia

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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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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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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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proper method and regulation related to the licensing, monitoring, operations,
dismantling, safety and health of the workers, etc. to be followed. In contrast to this,
informal recycling centres include primitive methods like, physically dismantling tools,
bare hands, chipping at melting plastics without any kind of ventilation, disposal of
scraps and waste in rivers and fields etc. Informal recycling is a cost-effective business
due to less money involved in its maintenance. The workers of informal recycling
industry of Australia are more exposed to hazards as these companies do not follow any
rule or regulation and exploit the immigrant labors (White & Heckenberg, 2011).
To prevent any kind of negative effects on the health due to e-waste recycling, especially
in the informal centre, the Federal Government of Australia, State, Territory and local
government work actively towards the proper implementation of initiatives and
regulations. Now the government is giving utmost importance to the health and safety of
human resources in the industry, other than environmental protections. In the formal e-
waste recycling industry, the human resource department tries to implement various
policies and measures for the worker's safety and health issues. Whereas in informal e-
waste recycling industry is more of an informal and illegal kind, thus no measure at all is
taken for the worker's benefits (CMA Ecocycle , 2017).
The biggest problem with the management of the e-waste recycling is that most of the
workers are unaware of their privileges and rights regarding health, safety, and
remuneration. Most of these workers are immigrants and they prefer to work in informal
e-waste recycling industry. No proper training or education is imparted to them to
properly handle the e-waste machines, or environmentally sound management of e-
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waste, decent work standards or occupational safety and health (Ewijk & Stegemann,
2016).
It is the responsibility of the employer to take care of the safety and health concern of the
employees under him and impart proper training and sessions for educating them about
the various hazards related to improper handling of e-waste. The Government has
introduced many policies towards the proper handling of human resources of e-waste
recycling industry, policies and acts have been implemented, such as, National
Television and Computer Recycling Product Stewardship scheme in Australia, Work
Health and Safety Policy, Injury and Illness Management Policy, E-waste recycling
standard AS 5377, Health & Safety Employment Act, 1992 etc. The International Labour
Organization in recent times has started taking interest in addressing the issue related to
the value chain involved in e-waste recycling management and exploring the methods
and ways to improve the working conditions of the workers (Golev, Smart, & Corder,
2016).
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Methods Chapter
In this research, a deep analysis has been done on the poor working conditions of the e-
waste recycling industry workers, both in a formal and informal sector. The workers are
unaware of their basic rights and privileges and no proper training or education is
imparted to them regarding the handling of e-waste recycling machinery and this exposes
them to life-threatening hazards. The data in this research has been collected through
secondary research. In this study, qualitative research is used (SBS News, 2017). The aim
of this research is to have an in-depth understanding of the e-waste recycling industry
workers in Australia. Various government and agencies reports, policies, schemes have
been taken into account. Also, the works of many scholars and researchers have also
been considered. Articles and journals on the e-waste recycle industry and working
conditions of the human resources, including their pay structure, working hours, benefits
etc. are also part of the secondary research. The journals, reports of government and
many NGOs and agencies are an authentic and reliable source of data for this research
(Australian Government, 2015). It has been concluded from this research that workers in
Australia are actually facing many problems related to their health and safety, benefits
and pay. From this research it can be concluded that there is a lot of work need to be
done on the working condition, especially health, safety, pay and benefits of these
workers by the Government of Australia and other agencies, and the e-waste recycle
companies. Special care to be taken of the workers of informal e-waste recycles industry.
Based on this study, ignorance of the workers, lack of proper training, illegal operations
of e-waste companies, no health and safety provisions by the company to cut cost have
been found out as the main reason for the poor working conditions for e-waste recycling
industry workers.
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Research Findings
Worldwide, Australians are the highest users of technology and they also generate the
largest amount of e-waste. Till 2013-2014, the volume of e-waste of Australia reached to
near to 132,000 tonnes. This increase is due to the rapid innovation in new and existing
products, decrease in electronic product's lifespan, the decline in the electronic product
price, complex product design etc. Also, the recycling industry has grown in size and
revenue in last one decade. Due to this, the number of people employed in finishing this
job has also increased (Tourneau, 2017). Simultaneously, the range of policies and
programs to support the recycling e-waste has also increased. The National Scheme is
regulated by the Government of Australia under its Product Stewardship Act 2011 and
Product Stewardship Regulations 2011, to ensure that all kinds of companies involved in
e-waste recycling adheres to its compliance. Specific duties of employers are mentioned
under The Health and Safety in Employment Regulation 1995 (Commonwealth of
Australia, 2018). The government also make ensure that the employers consult their
employees’/trade unions or contractors about the identification, assessing and controlling
health and safety hazards. Many companies have designed a working system which
ensures that the employee's health and safety against any kind of hazard, is controlled
and managed. Many employers have developed standard operating procedures for the e-
waste recycle procedures and equipment. But it has also been found out that many
employers do not ensure that workers are provided with proper information about the
working in the e-waste recycling company and ways to handle the machinery. Many such
workers are immigrant and if any kind of training is imparted, they are unable to
understand due to a language barrier. The e-waste which is recycled can be made
available for human ingestion while processing of e-waste or during its disposal.
Accidents due to e-waste recycling are increasing day by day in Australia and with it,
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there has been an increase in the Workers Compensation Claims, especially in formal e-
waste recycling industry. But many companies do not report any kind of Workers
Compensation Claims to government agencies (Dollison, 2017).
In the finding, the workers get affected mainly by trauma, chronic disease, and systemic
exposure. Only a few of the companies get pre-employment health checks and annual or
bi-annual health checks. Employees are also exposed to work methods which are unsafe.
Also, at these sites, there is no forklift and pedestrian management plans in place (EPA,
2018).
Analysis of Findings
The e-waste recycling workers are confronted by many hazards while working in
facilities involved in its processing and sorting on a daily basis. Very less importance is
placed by these facilities owners/employers for keeping their employees safe and avoids
any kind of accidents. The workers are exposed to harmful chemical and biological
substances due to their ignorance. Though many Municipality Governments in Australia
have implemented separation system and distributed educational material for such
workers. Hazards and disaster also happen due to improperly secured material bales and
moving vehicles in the facilities campus, like forklifts, trucks etc. Recycling equipment
needs time to time cleaning, servicing, adjustments or maintenance to efficiently process
and sort e-waste products. Many times, proper Tagout-lockout procedures are not
implemented properly; it causes damage to workers physically. Recyclable and waste
materials also generate dust, which causes serious health-related issues. Sometimes,
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employees also don’t follow the instructions and procedures in order to accomplish the
task before assigned time and earn incentives. In doing so, they don’t follow proper
instructions and hurt themselves (1800ewaste Pty Ltd , 2017).
In an industrialized country like Australia, strict environmental control and OHS
regulations are followed. It is not known that what is the exact number of jobs, levels of
remuneration and working conditions in this sector due to the presence of informal
facilities, as they are not registered. The presence of workers in the informal sector is
sometimes ignored by local authorities and government, as they contribute to the
economy of the country. The income, working conditions, benefits, etc., all vary from
facilities to facilities. As discussed earlier, the workers don’t use appropriate technology
and health and safety guidelines. Under highly hazardous circumstances, in the absence
of appropriate technology, workers get exposed to risks. Such workers also don’t have
any kind of access to the national security system. As in Australia, the informal sector is
not recognized as a formal industry, the workers in this sector are exempted from any
schemes or social protection. There is a need for the government to develop some
arrangements to provide these workers with disability benefits, maternity benefits,
healthcare benefits, etc. Many of the informal facilities are shutting down themselves
and contracting with MNCs and adopting less labor-intensive technologies, without any
implementation of strategies for job losses. The informal waste workers are impacted by
this change badly as it affects their income directly (Neville, 2015).
The Government of Australia has implemented Occupational Safety and Health Act
1984, where it is mentioned that all parties involved in the e-waste recycle have
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responsibilities towards the health and safety at the workplace. It includes employers,
contractors, employees, self-employed person etc. The suppliers of machinery, designer
of equipment, employers are legally required to make sure that all the parts which are
dangerous and exposed, should be safeguarded and protect others from injury. A code of
practice has been developed by the Commission for Occupational Safety and Health,
which safeguards the plant and machinery. In a joint venture between the Government of
Australia and New Zealand, the E-waste standards were published in 2013, which guides
the companies on e-waste collection, storage, transportation, and treatment. It also
includes the protection of worker’s health and safety at the workplace (ANZRP, 2015).
Recommendations & Conclusion
Under the Health and Safety in Employment Act, 1992 it is recommended and required
that employers provide and maintain a safe environment to the workers to work,
maintain proper facilities for health and safety of employees and ensure that all
machinery and equipment are properly locked, proper procedures are provided to the
employees during the emergencies, and to ensure that no inaction or action of any
employees harms any other person. All the employers shall inform the employees
regarding the hazards which they will be exposed at work, ways to minimize and protect
themselves from such hazards. Proper clothing and protective gear should be provided to
all the employees, in formal and informal facilities. Proper training and education must
be imparted to them by the HR department on subjects like proper handling of
machinery, working conditions, protection, company policies related to health and safety,
incentives, remuneration etc (Hunt, 2014). All the employers must provide the employees
the results of monitoring their health while working at e-waste recycling facilities. It
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must be ensured by the employers, that e-waste recycle machinery is operated by the
employees under proper supervision and the adequately trained staff is hired. Employers
should provide and maintain basic hygiene factor for the workers at the workplace, such
as washing facilities, washrooms, drinking water, first aid equipment, restroom, meals,
emergency exit plans etc. (Travers, 2017)
A safe system should be provided by the employers to the employees. In the company
policies and procedures, health and safety, safe work practices elements should be
mentioned. Allocation of each worker’s roles and accountability, responsibilities should
be mentioned in the job description. A proper communication system should be
developed so that no delay happens at the time of need.
Before commencing any operations at the facilities, it should be ensured by a proper
person that the contractor or employer has in place proper safety and health management
which comply all required legislation and procedures. All proper documents must be
produced by the employer to the government authorities which can later help them in
controlling or identifying any hazard before it happens. Proper hazard management
information should be provided to the employers too. The government should from time
to time; conduct a periodic audit of the facilities to ensure that employers are following
all the regulations and worker’s safety and health is not compromised. The employer
must ensure that all new employees are inducted into regulatory and legislative
requirements, policies related to health and safety systems, in-house practices, hazard
information, codes and guidelines, emergency exit plans. Other than this, proper training
on health and safety issues associated with assigned roles and tasks should be imparted.
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Comprehensive information related to health and safety hazards and their controls should
be in place and made aware of the employees (Heacock, Kelly, & Asante, 2015). Close
supervision should be done for all the new hiring to make ensure that they are becoming
competent in performing the task. An environment should be created by the employers
where there is no place for unsafe acts or behaviours. The employer must ensure that no
child labour is involved in the handling of the machinery or working nearby the
facilities. A proper workplace injury management should be in a place where employees
are integrated with practices of the management, treatments, claims and rehabilitation
and hazard management in the event of injury or illness so that the workers can return to
work after a safe period of time. The employer should take it as a priority in establishing
a proper hazard management program and occupational rehabilitation programs in place.
A proper ergonomics system must be considered in designing of plant and fleet. A proper
information regarding the same is mentioned in the “Code of Practice for Manual
Handling”, Department of Labour (McCullum, 2013).
To conclude, e-waste recycles industry is growing with a growing number of years and
rise in population. It is good for the economy of the country, but it should not ignore the
people working in these facilities. The working conditions of e-waste recycling industry
are very challenging and it presents serious damage to the workers. A proper risk
assessment should be done to avoid any kind of mishap at the workplace. Proper health
and safety measures should provide them with the workplace apart from other work-
related measures and benefits. Also, the companies and the government must ensure that
the workers are paid according to the industry standards and they receive proper social
and health-related benefits, especially in the informal facilities. A proper framework
should be developed for formalizing the e-waste recycling industry should be done by
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the government also; a sustainable financial and social security framework should be
developed for the workers. International, national and local level efforts must aim for
creation of recycling operations and procedures which are safe and secure and consider
the security of the people who rely on the e-waste recycling industry for their survival.
New and safe dismantling and remediation technologies and methods should be found
out and intervention practices should be implemented for protecting communities
(SPREP, 2011).
Limitation of the study
The limitation of the study was that many of the facilities are not registered, so adequate
data related to the number of people employed, their pay structure, health and safety
measures related policies cannot be accessed. Also, there are huge discrepancies in the
pay structure and incentive system, which varies from one facility to another. Lack of
data is the main drawback of the research conducted.
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