Over fifty-plus years ago a lucrative partnership between the diamond company De Beers and the government of Botswana was formed to run the country’s diamond mines. And while the United Nations has hailed the partnership as an African success story, The Fuller Project reports that women who work in the sector are being abused, exploited and treated like modern day slaves.
The “good pupil” in class
According to Hans Merket from the International Peace Information Service, if you ask somebody to tell a positive story about diamonds, the first thing they point to is Botswana. And due to this skewed perception, problems with corruption, safety and exploitation have been overlooked or ignored for years. Most workers in the polishing sector are women, hired on short-term contracts with few rights or benefits. That means they have little to no protection if their rights are being abused.
One woman working in the sector who wished to remain anonymous said:
“They treat us like slaves, they don’t care about our lives.”
The investigation found fine dust particles are causing coughing and sickness. Corrosive chemicals are being used with bare hands. Black dust from the diamonds is covering workers’ faces at the end of their shifts. And the workplaces are infested with rats, whose feces are regularly found in the shift meal provided by the company. On top of all that, one woman reported being repeatedly sexually assaulted, and others said they were routinely sexually harassed.
Workers viewed as “disposable items”
Diamonds account for over 90% of total exports and one-quarter of gross domestic product in Botswana today. And the diamond trade has led to Botswana being considered by many as an upper-middle-income country. But it’s also one of the most unequal. Approximately 3,500 workers, the majority of whom are women, are employed across 33 sightholders, trusted partners hand-selected by global giant De Beers. While the women are paid more than the minimum wage, it still isn’t enough to live on. A union official said the low wages continually push polishers into poverty with their salaries covering food and rent but little else. On top of that, most workers experience ongoing health issues related to the lack of safety equipment.
One current employee who directly handles acids without gloves or protection said:
“We are not given anything to protect ourselves, it’s very, very, very bad.”
In Botswana, to access a loan to build your own house you must have a permanent contract. Something most of the women don’t have. Instead, most work on temporary contracts. This makes it easy for companies to dismiss them or target them if they join the union. It also puts the dream of ever building their own home out of reach. But for most, it’s this job or nothing so they keep coming back. Referring to the cost of low wages on worker’s mental health combined with the physical toll due to the lack of basic safety protections, one worker said, “This company is going to kill us.”
A spokesperson for the De Beers Group said the company takes the allegations relating to sightholder businesses in Botswana “extremely seriously” and is carrying out “active measures” to review them.
The government of Botswana did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
“We want our government to fight for us”
When the dust settles, the next steps and what is needed to improve this situation aren’t clear. Some workers just want permanent contracts and salaries that represent a living wage. The union stated having a standard wage across all De Beers sightholders would go a long way. One former employee said, “We want our government to fight for us, we need people who can listen.”
Freedom United stands with workers and the union in calling on De Beers and the government of Botswana to stop treating workers as disposable. It’s time to turn the glittering mirage of Botswana as an “African success story” into a real-life reality for all the people of Botswana, and demand that people are always put before profit.
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