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).
Glencore faces global scrutiny over ESG failures 3 June, 2025On 28 May a delegation comprising trade union representatives, NGOs, Indigenous leaders and affected community members from Colombia, Canada, South Africa and Switzerland convened at Glencore's annual general meeting (AGM) in Zug, Switzerland. Their unified demand: Glencore must address its persistent environmental, social and governance (ESG) shortcomings and engage in meaningful global social dialogue.
South Africa: Women miners stripped naked at Kopanang gold mine 22 May, 2025IndustriALL Global Union affiliate the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) is condemning the dehumanising body searches that women miners are being subjected to daily at Kopanang gold mine - about 170 km southeast of Johannesburg.
Vaal reefs mineworkers remembered15 May, 2025In a sombre candle lit ceremony, over 300 workers, families and community members, representatives of mining companies, government officials and the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) members gathered in Orkney on 10 May to remember 104 Vaal Reef gold mineworkers who died in the worst elevator accident, in history, in 1995.
India: Coal workers' unions demand a Just Transition28 April, 2025On 14 April, IndustriALL and ITUC-Asia Pacific organized a consultation meeting in Kolkata with affiliated Indian coal mining unions to discuss energy policy and Just Transition, as the country prepares for the shift towards clean energy. This was followed by a roundtable meeting on 15 April between union leaders and employer representatives.
Wage theft at Rio Zimbabwe starves mine workers10 April, 2025Over 2,000 workers at Rio Zim have not been paid wages for over five months and the Zimbabwe Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union (ZDAMWU) says the workers and their families are on the verge of starvation as they do not have money to buy food and other basics.
Call to protect workers' rights in Zambia’s mineral sector8 April, 2025Research findings are concluding that in the absence of strict adherence to international labour standards and national labour laws, the critical transition minerals boom in Zambia runs the risk of increasing workers’ rights violations and environmental degradation.
