Taming the Congolese paradox in the battery supply chain15 October, 2025Trade unions and civil society organizations are joining forces to tame the Congolese paradox in the battery supply chain. The paradox is evident in the stark contradiction in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a nation endowed with vast natural resources such as cobalt, copper, coltan and diamonds, which account for much of the global supply needed for electronics and electric vehicles yet plagued by extreme poverty, armed conflict, corruption and human and workers’ rights violations.
Ukrainian unions: workers can’t bear full safety burden14 October, 2025Ukrainian workers continue to show extraordinary resilience, keeping key sectors, of the country’s economy, running under full-scale occupation and invasion. Despite constant danger, destroyed workplaces and scarce resources mining, nuclear and manufacturing workers keep the economy alive. At the same time, a wave of worker-hostile legislation is advancing and social dialogue has stalled.
DRC women artisanal miners face exploitation as unions seek better working conditions9 October, 2025On 7 October, in the noon of a blazing sun, women miners stand in nearly knee-high mud pools processing cobalt from nearby pits at Mutoshi, Kolwezi, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)’s Lualaba Province. This has dire consequences to their health, according to reports.
Building social partnership in Armenia’s mining sector2 October, 2025With the support of IndustriALL Global Union and the Confederation of Trade Unions of Armenia (CTUA), trade union leaders from Armenia’s mining and metallurgical sector gathered in Kapan, Syunik region, for a two-day round table–seminar on: social partnership at the republican and sectoral levels. Social dialogue and establishing social partnership at the enterprise level. The event took place on 19–20 September 2025.
Mining unions forge global networks to strengthen worker protections19 September, 2025In a bid to strengthen collective bargaining and safeguard workers’ rights, trade union affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union from Botswana, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ghana, Liberia, Namibia, Tanzania, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe convened in Dar es Salaam 10-12 September. The workshop focused on revitalizing trade union networks within multinational mining corporations (MNCs), including Glencore, Barrick Gold, AngloGold Ashanti and Valterra Platinum (formerly under Anglo American).
African trade unions push for HRDD in green minerals surge 17 September, 2025As Africa’s critical minerals power the global energy transition, trade unions are pressing for human rights due diligence (HRDD) to ensure that workers benefit from the continent’s rich mineral resources. At a conference in Accra, Ghana, on 2-3 September 2025, hosted by IndustriALL Global Union Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) regional office, 90 delegates from 15 countries including trade union leaders, partners and other stakeholders gathered to align global HRDD standards with African realities.
Pakistan: Three workers killed in gas explosion in coal mine28 August, 2025A powerful gas explosion killed three mine workers on 26 August 2025 in northwest Balochistan. The blast, caused by methane gas accumulation, blocked the entrance and suffocated the workers trapped inside. The tragedy highlights the ongoing failure to ensure safe working conditions in the region’s coal mines.
Unions push for safer, organized artisanal gold mining in Zimbabwe26 August, 2025In Zimbabwe, where artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) accounts for over half of the country’s gold production, unions are stepping up to improve health, safety and organization for informal miners.
Russian strikes continue to cripple Ukraine’s mines and communities22 August, 2025IndustriALL Ukrainian affiliates report a dramatic escalation of attacks on workers and workplaces in recent months. In the first seven months of 2025, because of Russian aggression, 676 workers were injured in their workplaces and 146 workers were killed due to missile and artillery shelling of enterprise territories, airstrikes and FPV drone attacks by the armed forces of the Russian Federation on industrial sites, production facilities and transport vehicles.
New research probes how workers in Southern Africa are reclaiming the Just Transition in critical minerals12 June, 2025Is the Just Transition in critical minerals industries veering towards greenwashing and how are workers mobilizing to redefine it? These questions anchor a pioneering study by IndustriALL Global Union’s Sub-Saharan Africa research team, in collaboration with the University of the Witwatersrand’s Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS).
