IndustriALL raises workers’ rights concerns at Glencore AGM

Affiliates from Colombia’s Sintracarbon and Australia’s Mining & Energy Union (MEU) joined IndustriALL’s director of mining, Emmanuel Adjei-Danso, at the meeting. The delegation presented coordinated challenges to Glencore’s board covering mine closure planning, use of contract workers, as well as injured worker protections. A prolonged bargaining dispute at Ulan Underground in New South Wales was also raised.

Sintracarbon called on Glencore to publish a detailed closure framework for the Cerrejón mine, confirmed for closure in 2034. The union also called for a halt to replacing direct employees with contractor labour in the lead-up to the closure. 

The MEU raised concerns about Glencore’s enterprise agreement strategy at Australian mine sites, arguing it is designed to undermine Same Job Same Pay legislation. The delegation also challenged the NSW Minerals Council’s push to reduce accident pay protections for injured coal workers.

IndustriALL made clear that regional cases must be addressed within a broader framework. This means tackling coal price volatility and developing a genuinely worker-driven just transition approach.

In response, Glencore indicated the company would engage IndustriALL through regional dialogues, with South Africa, Colombia and Australia identified as immediate priorities.

Following the AGM, IndustriALL held constructive conversations with the CEO and head of HR, from which a structured approach to resolving outstanding issues was agreed. That process will map each issue against the relevant resolution pathway, desired outcome and timeline.

Said IndustriALL mining director Emmanuel Adjei-Danso:

“The commitments made in Zug will be tested not by words at an AGM but by whether genuine dialogue is established at regional and site level. And of course whether workers’ concerns are met with concrete action.”