Author: Thomson Reuters Foundation Roli Srivastava

Mumbai (Thomson Reuters Foundation)-A government investigation will reveal for the first time the severity of child labor in deadly mica mines in eastern India, and activists plan to use the findings to pressure companies to end this practice in the supply chain.

A 2016 investigation by the Thomson Reuters Foundation found that children were killed in crumbling illegal mines that sparkle in cosmetics and car paint - but their deaths were masked.

Now, India’s National Committee for the Protection of Children’s Rights has completed its investigation of children working in mines in parts of Jharkhand and Bihar, although officials said the results of the investigation are not yet ready to be made public.

“Acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving the problem,” said Bhuwan Ribhu of the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Fund (KSCF), which has cooperated with the Jharkhand state government to end child labor in mines.

"Multinational companies are aware of child labor in mica mines, but once these data come out, we will push the company to take action," he added.

Since 2005, his charity has rescued nearly 3,400 children from mines and placed them in schools. It is estimated that 20,000 children worked in mica mining areas in Jharkhand and neighboring Bihar in 2016.

But the lack of data means that those working to free the children are forced to do the work somewhat casually.

"There is always a question mark about the severity of the problem," Lieb said.

Earlier this year, the Children’s Committee and the Jharkhand government recruited teachers and childcare workers to determine how many children were out of school and working in the mines.

Priyank Kanoongo, head of the committee, said: "These data will help create a pathway and action plan to actually eliminate child labor."

Activists said the findings will provide evidence of child labor, which should put pressure on multinational companies that source mica from India to clean up their supply chains.

Child deaths in 2016 prompted some companies to pledge to take action to end the practice.

But according to KSCF, children are still working and dying, and the agency recorded two deaths this year.

Activists said the death toll may be higher because the bodies are often not found in the rubble or were quickly cremated by mine operators.

High hopes are placed on the Paris-based Responsible Mica Initiative (RMI), which was established in 2016 to eliminate child labor and improve working conditions in Indian mica mines within five years.

But activists say progress is slow and too few companies have signed contracts.

"The reluctance of companies and the lack of knowledge from traders and local communities compound the problem," Ribhu said.

According to executive director Fanny Fremont, eight companies have joined RMI this year, bringing the total to 47. Five of them are processing companies in India, not multinational buyers of mica.

She said in an email that RMI is “seeking stronger and more active support from the automotive and electronics (the largest buyers of mica in 2015, 26%) industries, which are the most important users of mica.”

Fremont said that although cosmetics companies such as Estée Lauder, L'Oreal and Chanel are members of RMI, the organization does not have a car brand, only one-Philips-from the electronics industry.

India is one of the world's largest producers of silver minerals, and it can be found in lists of consumer products ranging from cosmetics and car paints to electronics and construction materials.

The industry used to have more than 700 mines with more than 20,000 workers, but the 1980 legislation restricting deforestation and the discovery of natural mica substitutes hit the industry, and most mines were forced to close due to costs and strict environmental regulations.

However, stimulated by China's economic boom and the global enthusiasm for "natural" cosmetics, interest in mica has rekindled, and illegal operators have flocked to abandoned mines, creating a lucrative black market.

In one of India's poorest regions, children as young as 5 years old are part of an opaque supply chain, and their small hands are perfect for selecting and sorting valuable minerals.

Fremont said RMI has launched a plan to eliminate child labor by improving access to education, healthcare and government welfare programs for 2,500 families in Jharkhand and Bihar.

RMI's projects in India are funded by its corporate members, but the donations have not yet reached the 1.5 million euros the organization said it hopes to raise in 2018.

Fremont stated that RMI has managed to raise less than 800,000 euros this year, up from 400,000 euros last year.

Activists said that the figures show the lack of support for the initiative, and the government's promise has not been fulfilled.

The Jharkhand government has previously announced plans to legalize all mica mines to better address the problem of labor abuse. Activists say this has not had much impact.

State officials said the new investigation will provide them with the data they need to take action.

"Every child is important to us," said Sunil Kumar Barnwal, the chief secretary of the chief minister of Jharkhand. "The purpose is to solve the problem."

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