Zimbabwean bulldozer operator breaks barriers in lithium mining16 September, 2026At Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe's (PLZ) Arcadia mine Nelia Chipako is proving that women can operate heavy machinery in one of Zimbabwe's fastest-growing mining sectors. She is also pushing her union to challenge the bias and working conditions that still hold women back.
Diamonds are forever, what about the jobs?2 September, 2026Lab-grown stones from China and India are tightening their grip on an industry that has supported regional development for more than half a century. For workers in Botswana, South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe, the resulting slump is personal with retrenchments and closures loom. But this month, unions from six countries united to meet major producers as one force. On 26–27 August in Gaborone, fourteen trade unionists forged a joint strategy. Their message: as the diamond industry faces this transition, workers' rights and jobs must remain non-negotiable.
Deploying human rights due diligence in African mines20 August, 2026Unions in South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe are using human rights due diligence as a bargaining tool to defend workers' rights, challenge unsafe working conditions and hold mining companies accountable. Rather than treating HRDD as a compliance exercise for companies, they are turning it into leverage at the negotiating table.
Zimbabwe: Supreme Court reinstates 135 sacked Waverley Blankets workers23 July, 2026On 13 July 2026, Zimbabwean textile workers won a major Supreme Court victory after Waverley Blankets dismissed 135 workers for refusing to give up their permanent contracts.
Unions voice concerns over Anglo American restructuring19 March, 2026IndustriALL Global Union affiliates from Australia, Botswana, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe stressed on protecting workers’ rights and benefits at the annual global dialogue meeting in Johannesburg on 12-13 March.
Chinese-owned Zimbabwe mine dismisses women after forced HIV tests2 February, 2026The management of a Chinese-owned gold mine in Zimbabwe is facing legal action from the union after subjecting female workers to mandatory HIV testing before summarily dismissing them. The union describes the management’s actions as a flagrant breach of national laws on privacy, equality and non-discrimination.
Curbing violations by Chinese multinationals in African critical minerals boom31 October, 2025As the world races towards net zero, Africa’s vast reserves of cobalt, lithium and copper, which are vital for electric-vehicle batteries and renewable-energy technologies, have huge potential to industrialize the continent and boost manufacturing. Yet in the extraction of the critical minerals, Chinese multinationals, are engaging in unfair labour practices, paying low wages, and destroying the environment.
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.
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.
Organizing under tough economic conditions in Zimbabwe’s garment industry3 October, 2024With the closing of garment factories over the years due to a prolonged economic crisis, recruitment and organizing has been difficult for most trade unions in Zimbabwe.
