Unions meet to tackle Central Asia’s investment boom

A region in rapid change

The Central Asian sub-region is going through rapid growth and change, as countries democratize and open their economies to the world. Investment is flowing in from China, Russia, the Gulf, Türkiye, European countries and elsewhere, often through joint ventures.

For unions in the region, who have traditionally worked mostly with state-owned enterprises or local private companies, the entry of global capital is a new experience. It raises new challenges, as investors have different expectations over the leeway they expect over their workforce. Different working cultures are also clashing with traditional industrial practices.

The economy is also seeing growth in self-employment and platform work.

Union representation at automobile industry

Automobile industry investments are in increasing in Central Asia, particularly in Uzbekistan. Quite a number of multinationals are already in place and struggle for union representation is a continuous effort. For example, Chinese electric and hybrid vehicle manufacturer BYD recently opened a factory in Uzbekistan with an annual production capacity of 50,000 cars. As part of the joint venture agreement, the metalworkers’ union secured recognition and collective bargaining cover and workers earn more than the national average. However concerns remain about the level of influence unions have to improve conditions further.

Investment across sectors

Investment is flowing into oil, gas and energy and the region is at the beginning of an expected renewables boom, with wind and solar projects under way.

The chemical and pharmaceutical sector is also seeing foreign investment and the commodities boom, with rising gold and copper prices, keeps the mining industry in a strong position.

The development of the Trans-Caspian Corridor, a modern revival of an ancient trade route between China and Europe, is raising the region’s profile as a logistics hub. This is likely to drive growth in supply chain manufacturing for the automotive, energy and other sectors.

New ILO convention on platform work

The ILO ACTRAV senior specialist Gocha Aleksandria spoke about the results of the recent International Labour Conference and the new ILO Convention on the Platform Economy, C193. He also spoke about ratification rates in the sub-region, which are high, and the level and quality of implementation and social dialogue.

Tools for organizing global capital

IndustriALL campaigns and organizing director, Walton Pantland, spoke about tools to tame global capital, including human rights due diligence (HRDD), investor engagement, OECD complaints mechanisms and complaints processes through international financial institutions. He also stressed the importance of organizing newly emerging sectors.

The discussion was lively and unions enjoyed exchanging views on the changing economy and opportunities for union growth.

Interest and appetite from the unions for international cooperation and solidarity

While IndustriALL affiliates re-affirmed their strong commitment for closer cooperation at international level, non-affiliated unions attended the meetings expressed their interest and appetite to learn more about IndustriALL with an intention to join and participate in the global structures.

“The economy in this region is growing rapidly as global capital moves in to invest in raw materials, manufacturing and energy. There is tremendous opportunity for union growth. We need to make sure that this vital part of the global economy is well-organized and that the unions are connected to their peers in other countries,”

said Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary.

Solidarity has never mattered more: unionists ahead of Durham Miners Gala

Hosted at the historic Redhills Durham Miners’ Hall, the roundtable focused on defending trade union values in industrial communities undergoing profound economic and industrial transformation. Participants discussed the growing pressures created by geopolitical instability, economic uncertainty and the green and digital transitions, reaffirming that workers must remain at the centre of industrial change.

The discussions opened with reflections from ITUC general secretary Luc Triangle on the role of trade unions in shaping a Just Transition and safeguarding quality jobs, workers’ rights and democratic participation.

Atle Hoie, IndustriALL general secretary, said:

“Trade unionism is under attack. We need to stick together and defy anti-democratic far-right movements. We cannot allow for populists exploiting workers’ fear of losing status. Through international trade union solidarity can we push back on corporate profit maximization at the cost of decent wages and trade union rights.”

Speakers highlighted the common challenges facing industrial regions across the world and underscored the importance of cross-border solidarity in defending workers’ interests.

IndustriAll Europe general secretary Judith Kirton-Darling said:

“In volatile times it is more important than ever that unions speak up and show their power against deregulatory and trade union busting policies. As a restructuring wave rolls over Europe unions must send a clear message in defense of proactive industrial policy making with strong social conditionalities that promote quality jobs and strong social dialogue.”

Participants agreed that industrial transformation must go hand in hand with quality employment, investment in industrial communities and strong social protections to ensure that no worker or region is left behind.

The roundtable concluded by looking ahead to the 140th Durham Miners’ Gala, where participants joined trade unionists, workers and their families from across the UK and abroad in one of Europe’s largest celebrations of trade union solidarity.

Organised by the Durham Miners’ Association since 1871, the Durham Miners’ Gala—known as the “Big Meeting”— brings mining communities and trade unionists to the streets of Durham, celebrating the enduring values of solidarity, community and working-class culture.

The roundtable and the gala together sent a powerful message: in times of uncertainty and rapid industrial change, international trade union solidarity remains more important than ever. By standing together across borders, unions will continue to fight for workers’ rights, quality industrial jobs and a Just Transition that leaves no one behind.

South East Asia youth to launch labour education campaign

The co-chair of the recently formed Asia Pacific regional youth committee, Jean Faye Daguman, said:

“We will discuss with union leaders to propagate labour education videos on the social media accounts of IndustriALL affiliates in the region. In the next six months, we aim to reach out to 4,000 young workers and recruit about 700 young workers from seven countries.”

The proposal came out of the third IndustriALL-FES South East Asia youth academy. There, twenty young unionists gathered in Rizal, the Philippines. They identified a lack of labour education and relevant policy as the most pressing issues to address. Notably, labour education is central to organizing young workers into trade unions.

In general, young workers lack knowledge of labour rights. The public education system does not equip them with knowledge of basic legal protections once they leave school and enter the workforce. Popular labour education can help win the hearts and minds of young workers.

Over the four day academy, unionists from Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam explored organizing skills. These included workplace mapping and analysis, increasing union density, one-on-one conversations and reaching young workers through online tools.

Building on the global supply chain module from 2025, participants deepened their understanding of decent work in global supply chains. In addition, safeguarding fundamental workers’ rights is essential to achieving decent wages. Organizing in the supply chain and building leverage for workers’ power are also essential for decent wages and working conditions.

Young unionists also had frank exchanges on the differences between senior and young unionists. While acknowledging the value of senior leaders’ experience and knowledge, they called for more opportunities to develop their capacity and make decisions. They also called for sufficient funding for youth development.

IndustriALL youth and project officer, Sarah Flores, said:

“Diversity is our strength. But that strength is worthless if it remains confined to boardrooms. When young people from all countries engage in debate, their primary mission must be to take it to the workplace and organize workers where they are. Our goal is clear: to build a future where people reclaim power over profit through mass mobilization and organization.”

South Africa: First Battery workers strike over retrenchments

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, called for the strike after First Battery retrenched workers at plants in Benoni, East London, Cape Town and Durban, despite months of consultations aimed at avoiding job losses.

According to NUMSA, First Battery lost major contracts with vehicle assemblers in South Africa and no longer supplies BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Ford or Toyota. Instead of winning back that business through local investment, the union says the company is importing batteries from Germany for BMW rather than upgrading local production to meet automakers’ needs.

NUMSA argues that importing batteries undermines South Africa’s Automotive Masterplan 2035, which targets 60 per cent local content in the automotive industry by 2035. The current local content is about 38 per cent.

The union accused First Battery of wasteful expenditure and of withholding information needed for meaningful consultation under South African labour laws. NUMSA says the company refused to disclose key cost data, including executive pay, electricity costs, and original equipment manufacturer contract terms.

First Battery has offered retrenched workers a severance package of R10,000 (US$616), while NUMSA is demanding R200,000 (US$12,319). The union says the gap shows the company can afford better terms than what it is offering. NUMSA has also criticized Metair for refusing to meet the union before the retrenchments took effect. The union is seeking assistance from the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) to agree on strike-picketing rules after management warnings on possible victimisation of striking workers through disciplinary action.

NUMSA cited Goodyear’s closure of its local tyre-manufacturing plant last year, while retaining its distribution network, as part of a broader pattern it wants regulators to address. The union called on the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition to consider tariffs and import duties to protect South African manufacturers and jobs.

Further, NUMSA wants First Battery to withdraw the retrenchment notices, disclose more financial and strategic information and return to negotiations. The union says talks must include a joint approach to the CCMA and the Unemployment Insurance Fund for a temporary lay-off scheme that would keep workers employed while alternatives are explored.

Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary, said:

“There is absolutely no reason why workers should be thrown into the streets to join the sea of poverty, unemployment, and inequality. The least First Battery could have done is to agree with the Union and make an offer of a decent package targeting workers closer to retirement in some companies.”

“In a country where unemployment is high, retrenchments should be a last resort. IndustriALL supports job preservation and encourages employers to negotiate in good faith,”

said Paule-France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub-Saharan Africa.

According to Statistics South Africa the expanded unemployment rate which includes discouraged job seekers is 43.7 per cent or 13 million people.

Armenian trade unions stand strong for fundamental rights

Participants underlined the importance of freedom of association and collective bargaining. Gocha Aleksandria, senior specialist at the International Labour Organization’s workers activities bureau (ACTRAV), said one of the ILO’s core objectives is to promote and realize international labour standards, particularly fundamental principles and rights at work. He noted that Conventions 87 and 98 offer important protections against anti-union discrimination and employer interference and promote an environment for voluntary, good-faith collective bargaining.

Karine Aloyan, chairwoman of the Republican Branch Association Electrotradeunion of the Trade Union Organizations of Armenia, stressed the importance of concrete steps toward Armenia’s ratification of ILO Convention 193. She said ratification would strengthen protection of workers’ rights and promote international labour standards.

Sectoral challenges and gender equality

IndustriALL sector directors Alex Ivanou and Emmanuel Adjei-Danso presented sectoral analysis on fundamental rights and collective bargaining. Alex Ivanou covered base metals, mechanical engineering, ICT and electrical and electronics. While Emmanuel Adjei-Danso covered mining and energy.

Aristakes Danielyan, chairman of the Republican Branch Union of Trade Union Organizations of Industry Workers of Armenia, said advancing gender equality in industry is fundamental to decent work and social justice. He said trade unions have a crucial role in ensuring women have equal rights and opportunities at work, including equal pay for work of equal value, decent wages, safe working conditions and equal access to career development.

ILO specialists Casper Edmonds, Verena Schmidt and Igor Zemlyanskiy discussed the basics of social dialogue: the involvement of workers, employers and governments in decisions on work-related issues, including information-sharing, consultation and negotiation. They stressed the importance of collective bargaining for job quality, equality, labour relations, enterprise performance and macroeconomics, citing examples from mining, manufacturing and energy.

Eduard Pakhlevanyan, chairman of the Branch Union of Trade Union Organizations of Miners, Metallurgists and Jewellers of the Republic of Armenia, said occupational safety and health must remain a top priority in mining and metallurgy. He called for effective implementation of ILO Convention 176 on Safety and Health in Mines and urged Armenia to ratify Convention 155 on Occupational Safety and Health, saying this would align national legislation with international labour standards.

AI and the future of work

Casper Edmonds and Shreya Goel, also from the ILO, discussed artificial intelligence and social dialogue in manufacturing, drawing on international experience. Participants shared where they see or expect to see, AI in their sectors and what is driving it. All agreed that workers should be informed, involved and consulted, in good time, on AI likely to affect them.

Participants said innovation should make workplaces safer and more productive without undermining workers’ rights. AI can help identify hazards, predict equipment failures and prevent accidents, particularly in high-risk industries. But its deployment must be accompanied by meaningful social dialogue, workers’ participation, transparency and ongoing training, to ensure change is implemented responsibly and ethically, in the interests of workers and enterprises alike.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:

“There is a transformation in the Armenian trade union movement, and IndustriALL continues to contribute to it. This summer school with Armenian affiliates shows there is a huge appetite for capacity building and new capabilities in defending and promoting workers’ rights in the country. We will keep going through different programmes in Armenia in the period to come.”

Thousands of workers across Morocco participated in union protests

The Moroccan working class joined a large-scale national protest march in Casablanca on Sunday 28 June 2026. The march was organized by CDT.

Protesters denounced the government’s social policy and the persistent rise in prices. They also spoke out against the collapse in purchasing power, the refusal to increase wages and pensions and continued restrictions on trade union freedoms.

Regional marches organized by the CDT also took place across Morocco on Sunday 17 May 2026, demanding an immediate increase in wages and pensions, an end to the erosion of purchasing power, and fulfilment of social commitments. Participants accused employers of restricting trade union activity and the CDT rejected the purely formal nature of social dialogue, calling for concrete measures on wages, pensions, taxation, social protection and working conditions.

Khalid Houir Al-Alami, general secretary of CDT, said:

“The social conditions in Morocco are worrying and called for urgent intervention to address the impact of the economic crisis on the purchasing power of the working class and the general public. These protests are an expression of the working class’s rejection of public policies that have failed to meet their basic demands, foremost of which are a pay rise, a review of income tax and the fulfilment of social commitments.”

Khalid Houir Al-Alami added that Morocco is experiencing a social crisis that endangers social security, with high living costs, declining purchasing power and rising youth unemployment and that trade union rights are being violated by employers who reject union organizing.

New national march amid deepening cost-of-living crisis

Building on this momentum, the CDT has announced a further national protest march in Casablanca on Sunday 12 July 2026, in continued rejection of the deteriorating social situation and widening hardship affecting broad sections of Moroccan society.

The escalation comes against a backdrop of continued increases in the price of basic goods and services. The price of red meat has climbed to unprecedented levels and fuel prices remain another major concern given their direct impact on transport costs and the price of goods more broadly.

The CDT said the new march protests the failure of successive rounds of social dialogue to respond to workers’ core demands and the continued postponement of urgent issues, chief among them a general increase in wages and pensions, reform of income tax and fulfilment of previously agreed social commitments.

The union also criticized a recent vote by the House of Councillors, Morocco’s second parliamentary chamber, rejecting draft laws that would have capped petrol and diesel prices and reopened the Samir oil refinery, arguing this would have strengthened national energy security.

The CDT further denounced growing restrictions on trade union freedoms and the right to strike, condemning legal actions against trade unionists. For the CDT, the upcoming march is a renewed call for policies to protect purchasing power and strengthen social justice for Moroccan workers.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary, Kemal Özkan, said:

“What our Moroccan affiliates want is legitimate. Inequality is increasing in the world and also in Morocco. It cannot continue in this way, something has to change. IndustriALL is in full solidarity with our Moroccan sisters and brothers in struggle.”

What I am still learning and why that matters

I want to be honest about something.

At a recent Women’s Committee meeting, I said openly that there are concepts and ideas in the Committee debate I am not sure I fully understand. Intersectionality is one of them. Not the word, I know what it means in theory. But the practice is a different question. How does it change the way we organize? What should it look like in a collective agreement? How do we take a concept that makes sense in a meeting room in Geneva and make it real for a union in Zimbabwe, in Indonesia, in Norway?

I have not yet worked that out. And I think it is worth saying so publicly, because I suspect I am not alone.

From understanding to doing

When the concept of a transformative agenda was first explained to me, several years ago, I found the underlying logic obvious. If you want to solve a problem, you deal with the root causes. That is not a radical idea. It is just good unionism.

Intersectionality follows the same logic. Workers are not just workers. They are women, migrants, people of colour, older workers, young workers in precarious contracts. Their experience of the workplace is shaped by all of these things at once, not one at a time. A union that only sees one dimension of who its members are will miss the barriers that matter most to those members. It will bargain for things that look good on paper but leave the most exposed members behind.

When you put it that way, it is not complicated. The logic is there.

But logic and practice are not the same thing. And what I have come to understand, through the work of the Women’s Committee over many years and through the Congress in Sydney last November, is that the distance between understanding something and actually doing it differently is where the real work lives. That is the step most of us have not yet taken.

Five steps, not one

When I think about where we are as an organization, I think about it in stages.

Getting this understood within our small secretariat in Geneva was one step. Getting it understood by our Executive Committee was another. Getting a Congress of over 1,000 delegates to understand it was a third and getting them to vote for a feminist resolution, unanimously, was a fourth. Each of those steps required real work, real conversation and real time.

But the fifth step, getting our 530 affiliates around the world to understand not just what the resolution says but what it actually means for how they organize and bargain and represent their members, that is the biggest step of all. And we have not taken it yet.

I do not say that as a criticism. I say it as an honest assessment of where we are and what remains to be done. If you went to many of our affiliates today and asked two simple questions, what does this resolution mean in theory and how are you going to implement it in practice, I think the answers would make clear that we have a long way to go. Some affiliates are not yet sure. Some are not yet willing. Most are somewhere in between, trying to understand what this requires of them in their specific context, with their specific membership, in their specific country.

That is the work ahead of us.

The hardest cases

It is easy to talk about gender equality and intersectionality in a well-resourced union in a country where women are already present in leadership, already heard and already strong. Those conversations are still necessary, but they are not the hardest ones.

The hardest cases are the unions that are still fighting for basic recognition. The mine workers union in a country where conditions are dangerous and pay is minimal, where the union is spending every unit of energy it has just trying to win one more small benefit for its members. How do you ask that union to also think about intersectionality? How do you make the case that this is not an additional burden but an asset?

The answer, I think, is the same one that applies everywhere: a united workforce is a stronger workforce. If women in your industry do not feel seen by your union, they will not join it. If they do not join it, your bargaining power is weaker. It is not complicated. But making that argument land, in a context where survival feels more immediate than inclusion, is genuinely difficult. That is a challenge I am still working through and I do not have a complete answer.

What allyship actually requires

I hear the word allyship often. I use it myself. But I have been thinking about what it actually means, beyond voting yes at a congress.

The most important thing, I think, is time. A trade union leader’s agenda is packed. There is always something more urgent, always another crisis, always another negotiation. If you want to be a genuine ally, you have to decide that understanding this is worth putting something else aside for. If you do not make that decision, you are not really an ally. You are just someone who votes the right way.

Allyship begins with wanting to understand. Not just accepting the resolution, but sitting down and asking: what does this mean for the specific union I lead, in the specific place I work, with the specific members I represent? What would change if I actually took this seriously?

I do not think enough of us have asked that question yet. I include myself in that.

What the Women’s Committee has built

The feminist resolution did not come from the top. It came through the Women’s Committee, through years of work by women who understand from their own experience what is at stake. These are women who have come up through struggle. Who have fought their way into structures that were not built for them. Who know, better than anyone, what is needed and why.

They put this on the agenda because they know the cost of leaving it off. And they have been patient with those of us who have been slower to understand.

That patience is not unlimited. Nor should it be.

A note on privilege

There is something I have to acknowledge. I come to this conversation from a position of considerable privilege. I am a white man from Norway, a country where workers’ rights are strong, where women are present in leadership and where the conditions a man like me would work in are among the best in the world. That shapes what I find obvious and what I find difficult to see. It means I have to work harder to understand barriers that have never been mine. That is not an excuse. It is a reason to listen more carefully.

Where I am now

I understand intersectionality. I believe in the feminist resolution. I am committed to the work.

But I am also honest enough to say that I am still working out what that commitment requires of me in practice, day by day. I am still in conversation, with colleagues, with the Women’s Committee, with myself, about how these concepts should actually change what we do.

I think that is the right place to be. Not satisfied. Not finished. Still asking the question.

What I know is this: the unions that will be strongest in ten years are the ones that understand their membership fully, in all its complexity and organize from that knowledge. The resolution we adopted in Sydney is not a document. It is a direction. And the work of moving in that direction, seriously, practically, at every level of our organization, is just beginning.

I am committed to that work. And I am still learning how to do it.

Solidarity with workers in Venezuela

Tens of thousands are still missing. Rescue teams keep digging through collapsed buildings in Caracas and in the coastal state of La Guaira, the areas hit hardest, where entire neighbourhoods lie in ruins along with workplaces, hospitals and basic infrastructure. A state of emergency is in force. The disaster is falling hardest on families and communities already made vulnerable, especially women and children, older people and workers in precarious and informal jobs.

IndustriALL Global Union stands behind the solidarity letter sent by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and joins the international labour movement in expressing its solidarity with the people of Venezuela. In moments like this, international solidarity matters more than ever.

The affected region is home to major energy, petrochemical and manufacturing activities, industries in which IndustriALL, through its affiliates, represents workers in over 130 countries.

IndustriALL has no affiliated unions in Venezuela. Our solidarity nevertheless goes out to all workers in these industries and to the Venezuelan trade union movement. Their members have lost family, homes and livelihoods and many workplaces are damaged or have stopped operating altogether.

The earthquakes hit a people who had already endured a great deal. Millions were struggling to meet basic needs long before the disaster and at the start of the year IndustriALL condemned the violation of the rule-based international order and its consequences for Venezuela’s sovereignty and its people. Crisis has now been compounded by disaster.

IndustriALL reaffirms its solidarity with workers and communities affected and expresses its deepest condolences to the families who have lost loved ones.

Gold is booming, miners are not benefiting

Co-chair Cathy Drummond, of the United Steelworkers (USW), set the tone early. Miners around the world, she said, are facing many of the same pressures: changing business models, growing subcontracting, persistent health and safety risks, barriers to organizing and the creeping impact of new technology.

That sense of shared struggle ran through the whole meeting.

A boom that bypasses the workforce

Emmanuel Adjei-Danso, IndustriALL’s Director of Mining and Energy, opened with a stark picture of a sector enjoying record gold prices and rising production, with central banks worldwide leaning on gold reserves to shore up their currencies. Yet that surge in value, he said, is not translating into stronger collective bargaining, safer workplaces or better pay for the people who dig the gold out of the ground.

He pointed to a troubling toll of mining fatalities recorded across the sector so far this year and warned that illicit mining is making the problem worse by undermining safety standards and the sustainability of the industry as a whole.

Kemal Ozkan, IndustriALL’s assistant general secretary, framed the stakes in even starker terms.

“The mine workers are already at the crossroads of the energy transition for a low-carbon economy, decarbonization, but at the end it really puts the mine workers at the front line of the whole debate,”

he told delegates.

Subcontracting: the thread running through every country

If one issue united every speaker, it was subcontracting.

In Ghana, delegate Abdul-Moomin Abdul-Moomin described an industry where the vast majority of the workforce is now on temporary or fixed-term contracts, a shift he linked directly to weak labour law enforcement. The Ghana Mine Workers’ Union has fought back through the courts and the bargaining table, winning protections that make it harder for employers to simply let contracts lapse.

In Quebec, Canada, Sebastien Rail from the USW described subcontractors operating almost like staffing agencies, supplying labour to mines on terms that make it extremely difficult for workers to unionize and linked the practice to a recent rise in workplace accidents among inexperienced, recently hired staff.

In Tanzania, RWECHUNGURA Paternus from Tanzania Mines, Energy, Construction and Allied Workers’ Union (TAMICO) explained how artisanal and small-scale miners, often working without contracts or fixed pay, can wait years to be paid once their gold is finally sold, making them almost impossible to organize effectively.

And in Zimbabwe, Thulani Moyo catalogued a grim list of site-level failures: a change of mine ownership that stripped away accrued worker benefits, inadequate dust control exposing miners to silicosis, compromized ventilation, shared sanitation facilities for men and women and a workplace death linked to poor safety protocols.

Solidarity that crosses borders

Not every story was one of setback. Delegates heard how international solidarity is already delivering results.

USW’s Ben Davis described a global network of Newmont union representatives, spanning Australia, Mexico, Argentina, Canada and Peru, working together to push the company to raise standards. He also detailed two cases brought under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement’s rapid response labour mechanism, including one in which an investigation uncovered links between organized crime and efforts to crush union organizing at a Mexican mine, complete with threats of violence against workers. The union won that case, although enforcement, Davis said, remains an uphill battle.

In Mexico, Los Mineros’ Luis Alberto described how the union has shifted from reacting to labour law changes to getting ahead of them, using legally mandated training committees to make outsourcing harder to justify and pushing health and safety committees to be led by the workers who know the conditions best.

A new tool in the toolbox: IRMA

The meeting also heard from Davidzo Muchawaya of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), a multi-stakeholder body where IndustriALL sits on the governing board alongside mining companies, investors, civil society and purchasers.

IRMA’s independent audits, Muchawaya explained, give unions something rare: verified, third-party evidence of conditions on the ground, evidence that companies themselves have already seen and accepted before it is published. She said the audits have surfaced a consistent pattern across many sites: a heavy and growing reliance on contract labour, weaker protection from harassment for contract workers and patchy management of safety hazards, especially for workers outside the direct workforce.

IndustriALL has already put those reports to work, combining IRMA audit findings with affiliate testimony to build a case for action at AngloGold Ashanti sites, holding the company to account for outstanding corrective measures.

Asked whether a Chinese-owned mine recently joining the IRMA system in the Democratic Republic of Congo was a sign of progress, Muchawaya agreed it was a notable step, noting that the vast majority of sites only join IRMA because of external pressure in the first place.

What happens next

Closing the meeting, co-chair Stephen Smyth called it the start of something bigger: a standing network, meeting regularly, with a shared contact list to keep the dialogue going between sessions. Emmanuel Adjei-Danso confirmed IndustriALL will now build dedicated company networks for Barrick Gold and AngloGold Ashanti, adding to existing work with Newmont and Anglo American and invited every affiliate to flag issues, campaigns and opportunities for cross-border collaboration.

The message from the network’s first meeting was clear: gold may be booming, but it is solidarity, not the gold price, that will deliver decent work for the people who mine it.

Garment workers in Indonesia, Cambodia and Bangladesh learn to use human rights law as a union tool

The workshop, convened by the HRDD Competence Centre in partnership with IndustriALL Global Union, is the first in a three-part pilot series targeting unions linked to global manufacturers Coats, Crystal International and Pou Chen.

IndustriALL textiles and garment director Christina Hajagos-Clausen said:

“For too long, due diligence has been a conversation between companies and regulators. This pilot puts workers and their unions at the centre of that process, with the knowledge and tools to hold employers accountable under the law.”

From classroom to factory floor

The three-day session brought together shop stewards, legal and paralegal staff, organizers and union leadership and put a direct question to them: how do you use the German Supply Chain Act, the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and the OECD Guidelines as practical tools?

By the end of the workshop, all three country delegations could identify which instruments applied to their employers, had mapped supply chains using Open Supply Hub and the SOMO CSDDD Data Hub and had begun developing strategies combining national and transnational action pathways.

“It is a critical time to support workers with building the tools to put new trade and due diligence laws to work for workers. We can already see how countries such as Indonesia are creating and implementing new laws on forced labour and mandatory human rights due diligence. Workers play a critical role in ensuring safe and secure supply chains. As a centre, we support the global labour movement, to assume their seats at key decision-making tables,”

said Competence Centre executive director, Kelly Fay Rodriguez.

What comes next

The pilot continues in Bangladesh in October 2026 and concludes in Cambodia in January 2027, with findings presented in April 2027.