What are tailings dams?

What are mine tailings?

Tailings are the waste products from mining. Mechanical and chemical processes are used to grind up rock into a fine sand to extract the valuable mineral or metal from the rock ore. All the unrecoverable and uneconomic remnants from this process are waste. They include finely ground rock particles, chemicals, minerals and water.  Depending on the type of mining, tailings can be liquid, solid or a slurry of fine particles. Many substances found in tailings are toxic, even radioactive, and it’s not uncommon to find large amounts of cyanide, mercury and arsenic in tailings.  

What are tailings dams?

Tailings dams are used to store water and waste that come as by products from the mining process. It is estimated there are at least 3,500 tailings dams around the world. But as there are around 30,000 industrial mines, the number of tailings dams is likely to be much higher.

Tailings dams can be huge in size, as big as lakes, and reach 300 metres high. As the slurry of waste is piped into the dam, the solids settle to the bottom and the water is recycled to be used in the separation process again.

Rather than reinforced concrete, tailings dams use earth or rock to create a barrage. However, most tailings dams use the cheaper but more dangerous upstream method of construction, using the tailings themselves to create a barrier.  The dam is then continually raised to accommodate more waste. These dams are more unstable and more prone to leakage.

Tailings dams need regular maintenance and monitoring to ensure that there is sufficient drainage and the dam is strong enough to contain the mining waste.

Tailings dams can pose a threat to local wildlife as birds and animals bathe in and drink from the contaminated waters. Leakage of toxic substances from tailings dams can also cause damage to the immediate environment.

What are the consequences of collapse?

In the past ten years, there have been 31 recorded major tailings dam failures between 2008 and 2018, not including the devastating failure of mining company Vale’s dam in Brumadinho, Brazil on 25 January 2019, in which 300 people are presumed dead.

In Canada, the Mount Polley copper-gold mine dam collapse in 2014 released 25 million cubic metres of wastewater and tailings into adjacent water systems and lakes. That’s enough to fill 20,000 Olympic swimming pools.

A year earlier, the mine’s owner, Imperial Metals, reported that the tailings dam contained 84,831 kilograms of arsenic, 38,218 kilograms of lead and 562 kilograms of mercury along with other minerals and waste products. 

In 2015, the Samarco dam collapse in Brazil released 33 million cubic metres of iron ore tailings slurry into the environment, killing 19 people, displacing 600 families and contaminating waterways for 620km downriver until it reached the ocean. It is feared that precious ecosystems and fish life that support indigenous communities will never recover.

There are also grave concerns for the safety of legacy tailing dams that are no longer used but still pose a considerable threat to life and the environment if they fail.

Are tailings dams necessary?

Traditional storage facilities, such as the ones involved in the Brumadinho and Samarco tragedies, are used by the mining industry simply because they are cheap. New technologies are available that substantially reduce or mitigate the risk associated with potential dam failures, such as the filtered tailings process, which reduces the amount water to minimize volume and improve stability. Dry tailings disposal is another alternative that offers significant benefits in terms of environmental sustainability, as well as worker and community safety.    

What can be done to improve tailings dam safety?

Tailings dam failures are not inevitable and can be prevented. Mining companies must listen to workers and unions, who are frequently the first to flag safety issues but too often ignored. IndustriALL Global Union has worked with the multisector Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) to set the highest standards of tailings dam safety along with the International Council on Mining & Metals which has produced guidelines on preventing catastrophic failure of tailings storage facilities. The mining industry must urgently adhere to these standards to prevent future disasters.

Zambia: Three mineworkers die in underground fire

While refuelling a loader, the engine caught fire, igniting materials around it and causing a larger fire. Noxious fumes from the fire entered the adjacent workshop making it impossible to breahte.

The deceased mineworkers were working at a level 1,380 metres below the surface. They were members of the Mineworkers Union of Zambia (MUZ) — an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union.

Mopani Mine says in a statement that it will carry out an investigation in conjunction with the country’s mine safety department and announced that it had suspended operations until further notice. Zambia has passed an Occupational Health and Safety Act and ratified Convention 176 on health and safety in mines.

However, despite the laws there is poor inspection and compliance by companies. The companies also do not adhere to operational health and safety requirements. Further, enforcement by cash-strapped institutions to ensure compliance through inspections is often weak.

Says Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining: “Mopani should take responsibility over the death of the workers, and we hope that the investigations into the circumstances leading to the fire will provide more information as to the cause of the blaze. We reiterate once again that it is the responsibility of mining companies to always ensure the safety of the workers at their operations above all else.”

In paying condolences, the union’s president Joseph Chewe described the mineworkers in a social media post as “vibrant members who had potential to contribute immensely to the growth of the union” and said the accident was “tragic”. The youngest of the deceased workers was 27, while the other two were 32 and 33-years-old respectively, testimony to MUZ’s recent recruitment and organizing drive targeting young workers.

Chewe says “MUZ will continue to mourn with the bereaved families and work closely with the families and Mopani management to ensure that all the necessary arrangements are put in place during this trying moment.”

Mopani Mine, which produces copper and cobalt, is owned 73 per cent by Glencore. The other owners are the Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines (10 per cent) and First Quantum Minerals (16.9 per cent).

Over 11,600 Bangladesh garment workers lose jobs and face repression

According to an estimate provided by the IndustriALL Bangladesh Council (IBC), the national coordinating body of affiliates of IndustriALL Global Union, over 11,600 workers have lost their jobs.

Many of them, particularly senior grade workers, were forcefully made to resign, for the companies to avoid paying higher wages and social security benefits. The terminations came in the wake of marginal wage increases announced after protests by garment workers.

Employers and the police have filed cases against over 3,000 unidentified workers and about 70 workers have been arrested, some of them released on bail. Earlier this year, one worker was killed and many injured in the protests.

Still weeks after the protests, many workers fear being arrested on false charges. Large numbers of workers have faced threats of physical violence by hired goons if they continue to demand higher wages.

It is difficult for terminated workers to find new employment, as the biometric data linked to their employment records are used to identify workers and deny employment, based on their involvement in trade union activities and protests.

Valter Sanches, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary said:

“We are shocked to see the false cases, arrests, terminations and violent threats against workers unleashed by the employers and the state machinery.

“Employers and brands need to end the climate of fear among workers and establish a work environment which respects workers’ right to freedom of association and effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining.”

Salauddin Shapon, secretary general of IBC, said:

“The arrests targeted union leaders and office bearers with the tacit support of employers in order to cripple union activities. The harassment needs to stop immediately. Employers and the government should withdraw all false cases against workers, and all unjust terminations and suspensions should be withdrawn. Employers should pay wages as announced by the government.”

Terminated and suspended workers were working for companies producing for global brands including H&M, Inditex, KiK, Voegele, LIDL, Mango, Next, Matalan, VF, Takko, ALDI, Marks & Spencer, Puma, Wal Mart, JC Penny, Tesco, Stanley Stella and many others.

*This article was corrected on 13 February to remove the name of Tchibo and Esprit from the list of brands sourcing from affected factories.

South African unions oppose plans to privatize power utility Eskom

The proposal is to break Eskom into three parts — generation, transmission and distribution. Other parts of Eskom considered to be non-core will be privatized.

IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) are against the proposed dismantling and privatization and says they will respond through mass action, protests and strikes should the government proceed with the plans.

Says David Sipunzi, the general secretary of NUM:

“NUM is against any attempt to unbundle Eskom. It is the privatization of Eskom to enrich the elites and not about saving costs. We, therefore, call upon the government to reconsider its position because it is anti-working class and the poor. It will result in electricity being expensive and unaffordable to the poor. The NUM is going to fight tooth and nail against the unbundling.”

Irvin Jim, general secretary of NUMSA concurs:

“The government took the decision to privatize a national asset, which is owned by the public, without bothering to consult the most important stakeholder, which is labour and the community at large. The working class is opposed to any privatization plans of our state-owned enterprises, particularly, Eskom.” Jim says the government must come up with a social plan that includes a Just Transition after consulting unions. He adds that consulting after making an announcement is a “box-ticking exercise.”

The union positions on Eskom were presented to the government during a march to the Union building in 2018, and they include an energy mix policy that considers coal mines and a socially-owned renewable energy sector that benefits workers and communities and not only a few independent power producers. Last year the government gave contracts to 27 independent power producers in the renewable energy sector to the disappointment of the unions.

Says Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa:

“There is need for social dialogue between government, unions and communities on the Eskom proposals. Unions are willing to engage as stakeholders representing thousands of workers who will be affected by the unbundling through job losses and retrenchments.”

Brazilian metalworkers announce global action against General Motors’ threats

Leaders from all of the unions within the Brazilian Metalworkers' Movement (O movimento Brasil Metalúrgico), uniting all the federations, unions and confederations of metalworkers of Brazil including IndustriALL affiliates CNM/CUT and CNTM/Força Sindical, agreed on a plan of action to protect the rights of metalworkers at carmakers and throughout the supply chain and to support the working class as a whole. The Movement was formed in 2017 with the aim to defend workers’ rights and fight against precarious work among others.

One of the key decisions was to organize a global day of union action against the threats made by General Motors (GM), with unions in Canada and the United States invited to take part.

Even though sales are on the rise, GM leaders issued a memo threatening to shut down operations in South America unless they could find ways to return to profit.

Workers at the GM plant in Gravataí recently led a demonstration condemning the cost-cutting measures put forward by the company, which include a reduction in the wage floor and a 44-hour work week.

At the meeting, union leaders discussed these threats to undermine workers’ rights. They also talked about the impact of the blackmail that GM had conducted in the United States and Canada when it announced the closure of five plants across the two countries.

Members of the Brazilian Metalworkers' Movement also decided to publish a newsletter to inform people of their struggle against the threats made by GM and other manufacturers.

In addition, they agreed to support other campaigns, such as the demonstration of solidarity with the families of the victims of the Brumadinho tragedy on 7 February, and the national day in support of retirement scheduled for 20 February. 

The discussions were chaired by Mónica Veloso, vice president of CNTM and co-chair of the IndustriALL Global Union women’s committee. She said that it was essential to reclaim respect for the working class in order to face these intensely aggravating times.

Finally, members of the Movement agreed to set up a group that would come up with a proposal for a national collective employment agreement to help protect workers and their rights.

IndustriALL's general secretary, Valter Sanches, joined the meeting via video call and said:

"GM is blackmailing unions. We are going to coordinate a global struggle with unions in Canada and the United States in order to show solidarity at this time. We'll make sure that unions worldwide take action against this blackmail."

African Mining Indaba: decent and sustainable work must be the future of mining in 2050

These are some of the questions that framed debate at the African Mining Indaba and Alternative African Mining Indaba, held in Cape Town 4-7 February.

The theme for the Mining Indaba, a forum bringing together thousands of representatives from governments, mining companies and investors, was “Championing Africa’s sustainable economic growth”.

Kemal Özkan, IndustriALL Global Union assistant general secretary, spoke on a Mining Indaba panel called Transforming the future of the workforce and communities: What is the role of technologies and local content policies:

 “The technological transformation taking place in mining should protect the rights and interests of workers as well as those of mine-affected communities. New jobs must be created and there must be a fair and Just Transition, lifelong learning through reskilling and upskilling of mineworkers, and improved health and safety. The recommendations of the ILO Global Commission on the Future of Work report should be adopted.”

On the panel were representatives from the ILO, African Rainbow Minerals, and the Zimbabwe Environmental Lawyers Association.

The theme of the Alternative Indaba, composed of civil society actors and communities, was “going stronger, forging forward” as part of celebrating its ten years of activity. The second day of the Alternative Indaba focused on sustainable development with participants from the two indabas engaging in discussions. Alternative Indaba participants marched to the venue of the Mining Indaba to present their list of demands to mining companies for communities to benefit equally from mining and for sustainable mining that respects communities.

The Alternative Indaba, which this year had 500 delegates from 26 countries, is a movement for mine-affected communities to raise voices, reflect, learn and share, and mobilize on the rights of communities.

Some of its successes include improved policy engagement with governments, forcing mining companies to have dialogue with communities, including women and, in some instances, forcing the companies through community mobilization to comply with environmental laws. The Alternative Indaba, which received support from IndustriALL and other organizations, is also campaigning for the implementation of the African Mining Vision and engaging the African Union and governments, and represents artisanal and small-scale miners.

Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining, emphasized on another panel that “the social and environmental costs of mining are not reflected on companies’ balance sheets but externalised and passed on to workers, their families, poor communities and the state. Occupational injuries and ill-health have huge social and economic implications for society. Indirect costs include the costs of livelihoods lost, lost income to dependents, and the cost associated with caregiving by families and the community.”

Presidents Nana Akufo-Addo of Ghana, and Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa, said at the Mining Indaba that mining had potential to lead on sustainable economic development in Africa through infrastructure development and job creation.

Young Cambodian workers move a step closer to leadership

The young trade unionists from ten national affiliates held the training as a follow-up to the action plan adopted at the regional youth exchange in Malaysia in October 2018. The participants learned more about building youth committees, new organizing approaches, international labour standards related to young workers and sustainable youth structures at their workplaces. Fifty per cent of the participants were young women.

The participants discussed the situation of youth in Cambodia, in society and at the workplace. They identified fears which young workers have over failure to implement labour laws, fixed-term contracts, piece-work, forced overtime, discrimination against young workers and the lack of protection for pregnant workers.

The young unionists looked at the employment situation in Cambodia, learned about global youth participation in trade unions and international labour standards which protect young workers. They discussed using new organizing approaches effectively.

IndustriALL Southeast Asia office has a strategic plan to promote youth exchange in the region, with youth leaders sharing their experiences in other countries. SPN Indonesia member Novi Utami Adiningsih gave a presentation on youth organizing, and participants exchanged their understanding of organizing practices and fundamental rights like working hours, minimum wages and social rights.

The young trade unionists committed to building youth committees and identified action points promoting gender equality, keeping workplaces free from discrimination, mapping union structures, and building capacity for the youth in their unions. They also designed posters for their youth committees.

Jenny Holdcroft, IndustriALL assistant general secretary, said:

“Trade unions need to represent different kinds of people: young workers, women, people who are often not heard. Trade unions are the only organizations fighting for workers’ rights in their workplaces, but sometimes they do not represent everybody. We need to change and be representative. Do not give up. Future trade unions will listen to what the new generation says and will be built by young workers.

“Leadership is not complicated. You need confidence as a leader to say ‘yes, I can’. When you say this, people will respect you. You need to be supported by people who trust you. We want to make connections between youth in IndustriALL. Sharing information and experiences will build the power of IndustriALL youth.”

Annie Adviento, IndustriALL Southeast Asia regional secretary gave a presentation on IndustriALL’s action plan for the youth and the region, emphasising the key strategic goals for youth and the upcoming Congress in 2020.

Eliminating sexual harassment at the workplace is a key goal, and participants were given a presentation about IndustriALL’s policies and asked anonymously if they had experienced sexual harassment. The participants discussed the country action plan, approved during the regional youth exchange in Malaysia, identified their trade union confederations’ youth committee activities for the new year and set a framework of priorities for the 2020 Congress.

Timberland workers in the Philippines strike over union busting

Pulido Apparel closed its San Luis facility in Batangas in December blaming financial difficulties. However, less than a month later, Pulido started rehiring workers at the same factory on two-month contracts, while blacklisting union officers and members. 

The strikers are demanding the re-instatement of all workers, including activists who have participated in the strike and picket, and for collective bargaining negotiations to take place as soon as possible. 

Pulido Apparel, a Philippines subsidiary of the U.S. based leather gloves and fashion accessories manufacturer, Fownes Bros & Co, has around 450 employees at three facilities in San Luis, Bauan and Lipa City.

Workers at Pulido Apparel created their Rank & File Local Union TF-2 in June 2018, which is affiliated to IndustriALL Global Union through the textile and garment federation, TF2/FFW Kilos Damit. The Pulido Apparel workers’ union was subsequently certified by the Ministry of labour as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent with all the rights and privileges as legitimate labour organization. 

On 8 November, a week before collective bargaining was about to begin, the company informed the union that the San Luis factory would be closing. It also dismissed union leaders and union members.

Pulido then ordered the San Luis workers to claim their redundancy pay and sign a document saying they had quit the company, according to the union. 

In early December, Pulido began hiring selected San Luis machinists on a three-month contract at the new factory site in Lipa City. However, all union leaders and active supporters of the union were banned in rehiring. 

On 3 January, the San Luis factory resumed operations, and by the end of January at least 61 workers were employed on two-month contracts. All union leaders and supporters remain banned and blacklisted at the company. 

In an effort to resolve the dispute, the union has filed for a preventive mediation to the labour court. However, company management failed to attend the latest hearing of the National Conciliation and Mediation Board, where notice of strike was filed by the union. 

Valter Sanches, General Secretary of IndustriALL, stated in his letter to Pulido:

“These actions constitute a blatant violation of workers’ rights as guaranteed by the Constitution of the Philippines, as well as international core labour standards such as Convention 87 on Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organize and Convention 98 on the Right to Organize and Collective Bargaining of the International Labour Organization (ILO), which the Philippines has ratified.”

Aileen Panuelos, local union president of Pulido Apparel, said:

“We are determined to pursue this struggle inflicted to us by Pulido management and their cohorts. We exist because we want to exercise and protect our legitimate rights as workers and human beings. We will bring this fight whenever and wherever it takes together with our allies here in the Philippines and abroad.”

Turkey ratifies Hong Kong Convention for safe recycling of ships

Turkey is one of the five major ship recycling countries in the world, including Bangladesh, China, India and Pakistan, that account for more than 90 per cent of all ship recycling by tonnage. 

The International Maritime Organization’s Convention enters into force 24 months after ratification by 15 states, representing 40 per cent of the world merchant shipping by gross tonnage, and a combined maximum annual ship recycling volume not less than 3 per cent of their combined tonnage.

IndustriALL represents trade unions in the shipbreaking sector around the world and has strongly lobbied countries to ratify the treaty:

“It is a significant step forward that Turkey, as a major ship recycling country, has ratified the Hong Kong Convention. However, ten years after it was established, not enough states have signed the treaty for it to go into force. We can’t wait any longer. There are too many deaths and too many workers exposed to hazardous conditions in the shipbreaking industry,” says Kan Matsuzaki, IndustriALL’s director for shipbuilding and shipbreaking. 

“The Convention is a minimum and a first step for all stakeholders to take responsibility to provide – and workers have a right to expect – safe, healthy, clean and sustainable jobs. We urge all the remaining big shipping and shipbreaking states to ratify as soon as possible.” 

Turkey is the seventh state to ratify the Hong Kong Convention after Belgium, Congo, Denmark, France, Norway and Panama. Together, they represent more than 20 percent of world merchant shipping tonnage. Major shipping and/or shipbreaking states such as Bangladesh, China, Cyprus, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore and the UK must ratify to fulfill the rest of the HKC requirement.

The Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships, covers the design, construction, operation and maintenance of ships, and preparation for ship recycling in order to facilitate safe and environmentally sound recycling, without compromising the safety and operational efficiency of ships.

Under the Convention, ships to be sent for recycling are required to carry an inventory of hazardous materials, specific to each ship. Ship recycling yards are required to provide a "Ship Recycling Plan", specifying the manner in which each ship will be recycled, depending on its particulars and its inventory, including proper safety training.

Nigerian unions welcome minimum wage progress

Nigerian unions, including seven IndustriALL Global Union affiliates, will now lobby the Senate to pass the legislation when it resumes sitting. 

If that is successful, all that will be left is for President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the minimum wage proposal into law. The new minimum wage is meant to cushion lowly paid workers in both the public and private sectors. 

Attempts to have a two-tier minimum wage structure in which state and private sector workers would be paid N27,000 (US$74), sponsored by the National Council of States, were rejected by the Nigeria Labour Congress, the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria and the United Labour Congress. 

Further, the federations demanded that there be no retrenchments because of the minimum wage. They rejected N27,000 because it is not the one recommended by the Tripartite Committee on National Minimum Wage in which the labour federations were represented. The committee held public hearings across the country and consulted widely before presenting their recommendations to the federal government.

The unions say the depreciation of the Naira has reduced the value of the minimum wage. For instance, in 2011 the N18,000 minimum wage was equal to US$150 but the approved minimum wage is less than US$100. This means going below N30,000 (US$83) is further pushing workers into poverty. 

Afolabi Olawale Olufemi, acting general secretary of the National Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, said: 

“We welcome the approval of the national minimum wage by the National Assembly and commend them for adopting the recommendations of the minimum wage committee which came out of a protracted consultative process.”

IndustriALL’s seven affiliates in Nigeria organize in sectors including chemical, energy, oil and gas, steel and engineering, and textile, garment, leather and footwear.