Colombia - declaration of indefinite strike18 March, 2015Workers in Colombia’s mining and energy sectors face anti-trade union practices, persecution and unfair dismissal. The Coordinating Committee for Trade Union Unity in the Mining and Energy Sectors (CUSME), including the leaders of the three unions involved in the proposed merger, met on 12 and 13 March in Bogota to discuss the next steps in the creation of a national mining and energy union and declared an indefinite strike in the oil sector.
Madagascar – Court decision shows Sherritt is not above the law 1 February, 2016A Supreme Court (Conseil d’Etat) in Madagascar has suspended a decision by the Ministry of Labour in favour of a union leader sacked by Canadian mining company Sherritt at its Ambatovy nickel mine.
Workers assaulted and threatened at Fresnillo PLC after winning labour court case7 March, 2016Three members of IndustriALL affiliate Mexican Miners and Metalworkers’ Union (SNTMMSRM), were physically assaulted when returning to work after winning a court case against the mining company Fresnillo PLC.
Russian union fights for mining jobs3 March, 2016On 28 February, around 2,000 workers at the Kachkanar Mining and Ore-Processing Plant in Russia held a rally to save their jobs and pay rate.
Namibian union declares dispute over retrenchments of 600 workers at Langer Heinrich Uranium mine30 May, 2018With hundreds of jobs at stake, and the Langer Heinrich Uranium (LHU) mine in Erongo Province – close to Swakopmund and Walvis Bay – negotiating in bad faith, IndustriALL affiliate the Mine Workers Union of Namibia (MUN) has declared a dispute to get fair compensation for workers facing retrenchment.
DRC unions close ranks against Glencore30 May, 2018Four IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), OTUC, CSC, TUMEC, and UNTC met at the Immaculata Convent, Kolwezi on 25 May, to discuss how they can build solidarity and work together against Glencore’s trampling of workers’ rights at Mutanda Mine and Kamoto Copper Mine (KCC), and to improve working conditions and win fair wages for the mineworkers.
South Africa: Union condemns retrenchment of 1,722 mineworkers at Evander gold mine16 May, 2018Pan African Resources’ Evander gold mine in Barberton, Mpumalanga Province, has given notice to retrench 95 per cent of its workers – 1722 workers out of 1812 – by the end of May. IndustriALL affiliate the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is asking that the Department of Mineral Resources intervene to save the jobs, even if it means that the government revokes the mining licence.
Case study: Glencore in Colombia2 August, 2018Colombia is another of the resource-rich, conflict-ridden countries favoured by Glencore. The company is well known in the country for its violations of the environment and workers rights, including health and safety and the freedom of association.
South Africa: Mine responsibly and improve working conditions, recommends report30 July, 2018If public statements on working conditions by mining companies are to be believed, the demands by trade unions on health and safety, workers’ rights, and the ending of unethical labour practices would have been met.
Asarco guilty of unfair labour practices in US copper dispute17 June, 2020The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against Asarco for unfair labour practices that sparked an eight month strike.
