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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

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.

Young Nepali unionists demand increased representation

3 April 2019 at 10:25

Twenty-two young trade unionists, including ten women from IndustriALL Global Union Nepali affiliates, met in Hetauda, Nepal, on 26 and 27 March 2019 to strengthen the voice of youth in the union movement. 

Expanded training centre opens for shipbreaking workers in India

25 March 2019 at 16:30

IndustriALL affiliate, the Alang Sosiya Ship Recycling General Workers’ Union (ASSRGWA) opened the second phase of its training centre and organized a training of trainers programme from 13 – 16 March 2019 with the support of IndustriALL and Dutch union, FNV.

United call for sustainable shipbreaking in Bangladesh

25 March 2019 at 12:05

Representatives from unions, employers and the government in Bangladesh called for sustainable shipbreaking and effective social dialogue, at a meeting organized by IndustriALL Global Union in Chattogram on 11 March 2019.

Shell worker abuses in Nigeria taken to UN Human Rights Council

15 March 2019 at 14:16

Royal Dutch Shell violations against contract workers in Nigeria came under scrutiny today at the 40th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.

Bangladesh Government must intervene to secure garment factory safety

5 March 2019 at 10:02

The Bangladesh Government continues to insist that the Accord on Fire and Building Safety leaves Bangladesh by a fixed date, regardless of whether there is a competent safety authority to replace it.

Bodies of Pasta de Conchos victims may be recovered

26 February 2019 at 15:49

Thirteen years on and the bodies of those killed in the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster may finally be recovered.

Expanded maternity leave becomes law in the Philippines

26 February 2019 at 15:33

After more than six years of intense campaigning and lobbying by IndustriALL affiliated unions, women workers’ in the Philippines will now benefit from increased paid maternity leave, as a new law comes into force.

Cement unions in India commit to strong organizing drive

26 February 2019 at 14:23

Over 30 Indian cement sector representatives of IndustriALL affiliates across India gathered in Delhi on 21-22 February and committed to improve social dialogue, union organizing and recruiting initiatives.

Calls for safety standards in artisanal mining as Zimbabwe’s flooded gold mines claim 28 lives

21 February 2019 at 12:01

Eight artisanal miners were rescued last week while 28 died when Cricket and Silver Moon gold mines in Battlefields, 175km from Harare, flooded after heavy rains. More are missing and feared dead with heavy rains continuing to slow down rescue efforts.

Trade unions in Brazil campaign against pension reforms

19 February 2019 at 12:00

On 20 February, trade unions in Brazil will hold a national day to support universal, public social security and condemn plans to destroy the country's pension system.

What are tailings dams?

13 February 2019 at 15:16

No one ever hears about tailings dams until they go wrong. But when they fail, the results can be catastrophic. So, as their numbers increase, what exactly are tailings dams and why should we be worried?

Zambia: Three mineworkers die in underground fire

12 February 2019 at 10:05

Three mineworkers died on 8 February when a loader caught fire underground at Mopani Copper Mine’s Mindola North Shaft in Kitwe, Zambia. Another worker, who survived the fire, is being treated for burns.

5 reasons to join a union

1 February 2019 at 18:59

There’s never been a more important time to join a union. As 26 billionaires own as many assets as the poorest 50 per cent of the world’s population, ordinary people are finding it harder to make ends meet. Trade unions fight for working people so they get a fairer share of profits, that in turn leads to a healthy economy and stable society. So what do they offer? 

Vale must be held accountable for Brazilian dam disaster

28 January 2019 at 16:43

Vale must be held accountable, say global unions IndustriALL and Building and Wood Workers’ International (BWI) as hundreds are feared to have died as a result of a dam collapse at Brumadinho in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais on 25 January. 

Many dead in Afghanistan mine collapse

8 January 2019 at 10:40

At least thirty people were killed, and several injured, when a mine collapsed in the northern parts of Afghanistan on 6 January.

Global Diamond Network demands better conditions in the supply chain

3 January 2019 at 14:29

The IndustriALL Global Union Diamond Network meeting 19-21 December in Johannesburg, South Africa, attended by 25 delegates from Belgium, Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, India, South Africa and Zimbabwe resolved to improve working conditions in the diamond supply chain.

New Year brings fresh tragedy for Pakistan’s coal miners

3 January 2019 at 13:19

IndustriALL’s campaign for safer mines in Pakistan continues into 2019 as four miners burnt to death and another miner was seriously injured in a methane blast at a coal mine in Baolochistan’s Dukki district on 2 January. 

IndustriALL mourns 13 miners killed in Czech Republic

21 December 2018 at 15:27

At least 13 miners have been killed and ten wounded in a methane explosion at the CSM coal mine in Karvina in the Czech Republic on 20 December.

Chemical and pharmaceutical unions build power in India

21 December 2018 at 11:30

Meeting in Mumbai, India on 20 December 2018, IndustriALL Global Union’s Indian affiliates agreed to intensify their union building programme in the booming chemical and pharmaceutical industries in the country.

Lesotho union observes AIDS Day

6 December 2018 at 16:11

One in six adults in Lesotho are living with HIV and AIDS according to UNAIDS. These include young women workers from the textile and garment sector, and unions are taking this up as part of their organizing.

Shell’s hidden shame - Contract workers on the poverty line in Nigeria

5 December 2018 at 13:38

Oscar Tamuno*, a driver for major Shell contractor, Plantgeria, has not had a wage increase in eight years. After paying taxes, pension contributions and union dues, he takes home 94,000 naira a month (US$258) working a 12-hour day, six days a week. And yet, Oscar is better off than many of his co-workers. * Not his real name.

©2019 – industriALL