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Health and safety

IndustriAll demands strong international health and safety standards and empowering workers' rights to:
  -  know about hazards;
  -  refuse or stop unsafe work; and
  -  participate in health and safety decision making.
Workers' rights, employers' responsibilities, and good laws, equal healthy and safe workplaces!

Contact person:

Brian Kohler
email: [email protected]
Tel. +41 22 304 18 49
Fax: +41 22 304 1841

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Timeline

April 28 - International Commemoration Day for Dead and Injured Workers

Text of the Agreement with ArcelorMittal on OHS

Safety is our right, not a privilege

12 September 2019 at 12:24

The quest for workplace safety continues in Pakistan, as unions and workers remembered the victims of the 2012 fire at Ali Enterprises in Pakistan, which killed hundreds of workers. 

African countries urged to ratify ILO C176 on mine safety

9 September 2019 at 17:18

Ratifying and implementing the International Labour Organization Convention 176 is an important step in improving mine safety and health and reducing deaths from mine accidents in Sub Saharan Africa.

Fatalities in Bangladesh shipbreaking industry unceasing

4 September 2019 at 15:57

The dire safety record of the Bangladesh shipbreaking industry continues as two workers were killed and thirteen injured, in yet another incident at the Ziri Subedar Shipbreaking Yard at Sitakunda on 31 August.

Moving towards sustainable shipbreaking in South Asia

4 September 2019 at 09:42

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates representing shipbreaking workers in South Asia met in Kathmandu, Nepal, at the end of August to improve safety and strengthen unions as yet more lives are lost in one of the world’s deadliest jobs.

Indian coal unions call for immediate ratification of ILO C176

2 September 2019 at 10:47

IndustriALL India mining affiliates INMF and HKMF joined forces at Talcher of Mahanadi Coalfields and at Asansol of Eastern Coalfields, demanding improved health and safety and the immediate ratification of ILO C176.

Calls to formalize artisanal and small-scale mining in Africa

29 August 2019 at 10:11

Trade unions in Africa are calling for artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) to be formalized as a way of transforming the sector, following a meeting of IndustriALL Global Union mining affiliates in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 21 and 22 August.

Agreement to end harassment at Nien Hsing factories, Lesotho

28 August 2019 at 15:34

A campaign by IndustriALL affiliate, the Independent Democratic Union of Lesotho (IDUL), to stop long-running gender-based violence at Nien Hsing Textile company factories has resulted in binding agreements to end the harassment, signed by unions, apparel brands and women’s rights organizations.

Los Mineros wins workers their share of profits from Grupo Mexico

19 August 2019 at 07:52

After 12 long years of strike action, Grupo Mexico has finally paid workers their share of profits. This is a major victory for Mexico’s Los Mineros union, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union.

Brazilians protest against reforms on pension and education

15 August 2019 at 10:15

Protestors in Brazil took a stand on 13 August against the social security reform promoted by the extreme-right president Jair Bolsonaro, and in defense of public education and employment.

Four coal miners dead and nine injured in a Coal India accident

31 July 2019 at 17:27

On the night shift at the Bharatpur open cast mine, at around 11.30pm on 23 July, a controlled explosion triggered a landslide trapping 13 coal miners. 

Indonesian unions fight for health and safety at work

4 July 2019 at 17:10

IndustriALL's Indonesian affiliates met on 1 July in Jakarta to develop action plans to improve safety and health at work. 20 unionists, from nine of 11 affiliates, discussed a union strategy to fight for Hidup Buruh (long live labour).

Argentina – historic march to victory in Glencore mine

1 July 2019 at 17:21

After an historical march in San Salvador de Jujuy, over 600 workers from Glencore’s El Aguilar mine won improvements in working conditions and an effective safety plan to prevent new accidents in the workplace.

Solidarity with striking metal workers in Italy

14 June 2019 at 12:31

Metal workers are taking to the streets of Milan, Florence and Naples today in a general strike over the future of their industry.

French court orders Saint-Gobain to pay compensation to Oise workers

12 June 2019 at 17:55

The labour court of Compiegne, France issued a verdict on 3 June ordering Saint-Gobain to compensate 130 employees of its specialized glass manufacturing and processing factory in Thourotte in the department of Oise.

Tackling mine safety in Vietnam and Mongolia

11 June 2019 at 11:37

IndustriALL is working with unions, employers and governments in Vietnam and Mongolia to promote mine safety using ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines.

Safety crisis in Bangladesh shipbreaking yards continues

29 May 2019 at 14:12

At least eight workers have been killed, and 35 injured this year in accidents in Bangladeshi shipbreaking yards. The number of fatalities since 2017 is around 47.

SPECIAL REPORT: Why is mining still so dangerous?

20 May 2019 at 14:31

Despite labour regulations and the efforts of unions, mining accidents take the lives of thousands of workers every year around the world and seriously damage the environment. Why is mining still so dangerous?

27 coalminers killed in Pakistan so far in 2019

16 May 2019 at 11:38

At least 27 coal miners have been killed so far in 2019 in Pakistan mine accidents. Trade unions demand that the government immediately ratify ILO C 176 on safety and health in mines.

Colombian union leaders receive death threats

16 May 2019 at 10:10

Leaders of Colombian mining unions Sintracarbón, which is an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, and Sintramienergética received death threats after they met with Dutch members of parliament and representatives of Glencore, Cerrejon and Drummond.

UK court rules in favour of hearing case of mine water pollution in Zambia

6 May 2019 at 14:31

In a landmark case likely to open doors for lawsuits against multinational mining companies that discharge toxic waste into rivers where community livelihoods depend on, the UK supreme court held that the case brought against Vedanta Resources will be heard in the English courts.

ILO Convention 176 is key for the mining industry

28 April 2019 at 07:48

Beyond the usual sound bites and press statements, there is a danger that the mining industry might have gone numb, unfeeling and almost unresponsive, to the avalanche of deaths in the mining industry. These sound bites and press statements, by governments and mining companies referencing both public and private policy statements seem at odds with the reality experienced by mine workers and society.

Bangladesh unions call for Accord to continue on 6th anniversary of Rana Plaza

24 April 2019 at 16:27

The IndustriALL Bangladesh Council called for the continuation of the Accord in Bangladesh in a demonstration today to mark the sixth anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster.

Why transparency is key to transforming the fashion industry

24 April 2019 at 10:03

Six years after Rana Plaza, the deadliest disaster in the garment industry, independent and transparent fire and building inspections by the Bangladesh Accord have transformed the safety of thousands of garment factories in the country, writes Jenny Holdcroft, assistant general secretary, IndustriALL Global Union.

The Accord must continue in Bangladesh until the government is truly able to ensure worker safety

15 April 2019 at 11:35

The Supreme Court of Bangladesh has given another short-term extension to the Bangladesh Accord, scheduling the next hearing to determine the safety program’s fate on 19 May 2019. UNI Global Union and IndustriALL Global Union, two signatories of the Accord, have issued a statement calling for a resolution that protects garment workers in the country.

Living under the threat of bursting mining dams

10 April 2019 at 14:47

Barely 500 metres separates the first houses in the Rio do Peixe neighbourhood of Itabira and the fifth largest mining dam in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. “If anything happens to the dam, we won’t have time for anything. We have been told it is a matter of seconds. We are risking our lives by staying here. If I could I would leave here immediately,” says Claudinei Ferreira, a 32-year-old mechanic who has lived in this town of 120,000 inhabitants for five years.

©2019 – industriALL