Mentorship programme empowers young African women to transform trade unions

The initiative, run by IndustriALL Global Union, with support from LO-Norway, seeks to promote young female leaders within affiliated unions. These women are positioned to drive reforms that promote gender equality, combat gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) and elevate the participation, visibility, and influence of young women in union structures, collective bargaining, sectoral networks and international forums. Mentees receive targeted training in leadership, organising, advocacy, feminism ideology and technical competencies essential for reshaping unions’ gender priorities and fortifying worker representation.

The seven mentors, drawn from backgrounds in union revitalisation, feminism, gender equality, and skills development, brought considerable expertise to the programme and offered sustained guidance throughout.

Among its specific objectives the mentorship project aims to empower participants to emerge as future women union leaders, build their confidence and support their pursuit of elected roles at workplace, branch, sectoral, or national levels. The project also aims to deepen young women’s involvement in union activities by integrating them into collective bargaining teams, organizing drives and advocacy efforts; to establish study circles that mobilise and educate broader cohorts of young women; and to expand female engagement in sectoral, regional and IndustriALL initiatives.

On the policy front, it advances gender equality and the eradication of GBVH in unions and workplaces by aiding mentees in crafting equality policies, response mechanisms and awareness campaigns. All participants undergo training in gender equality, GBVH prevention, and mainstreaming, aligned with ILO Convention 190 and Recommendation 206 on ending violence and harassment in the world of work. Mentees are further encouraged to contribute actively to women’s structures and gender committees in their respective unions.

Agnes Ama Agamasu, a human-resources professional at the Ghana Gold Board and member of the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union, reflected on her experience:

“The mentorship programme allowed me to reset and become a more effective leader. It built my confidence to engage with senior government officials and offered invaluable learning and cross-learning opportunities.”

Priscilla Aboagye, an accountant at PUMA Energy and member of the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemicals Workers Union (GTPCWU), added:

“I joined the programme when my baby was just four months old and learnt to balance family life with working in a male-dominated industry. It was a genuine opportunity to step into leadership. I came to realise that skills and talent alone are insufficient; guidance is essential.”

IndustriALL Sub-Saharan Africa regional secretary, Paule-France Ndessomin, described the programme’s broader significance:

“The LO Norway mentorship initiative is more than mere capacity-building, it serves as a potent catalyst for gender transformation within Africa’s trade unions. By arming young women workers with the tools to champion inclusivity and spearhead resolute campaigns against GBVH, it not only fortifies unions in the present but also lays the foundation for a future in which every worker, irrespective of gender, enjoys equality, safety and empowerment.”

A mandate to act, a responsibility to deliver

By Atle Høie, IndustriALL general secretary

This past year has not been an easy one. War continues to define daily life for millions. Democratic space is shrinking in too many countries. Corporate power is increasingly concentrated in the hands of a few, while working people are told to accept insecurity, precarity and declining living standards as inevitable. Climate breakdown accelerates, and technological change, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) is introduced not as a tool for shared progress, but too often as a mechanism for control, surveillance and job destruction.

And yet, if there is one lesson from 2025, it is this: workers do not accept injustice quietly.
Trade unions do not retreat when the terrain becomes difficult. We organize. We negotiate. We fight, and we win.

During the year, our affiliates have shown incredible resilience and strength. In Kenya, a court ruling upheld trade union rights against intimidation and abuse, making it clear that the rule of law still matters when workers stand together.

In Italy, metalworkers secured a historic agreement after sustained mobilization, showing that collective bargaining remains one of the most powerful tools workers have to defend dignity and fair pay. In Türkiye, metalworkers also won significant gains amid record inflation, reinforcing that union strength matters across Europe and beyond.

In the United States, workers scored major victories in traditionally difficult organizing environments: after a 15-week strike, IAM union members ratified a new contract at Boeing; autoworkers achieved a historic union win at Volkswagen’s Chattanooga plant; and energy workers secured a groundbreaking victory with UWUA in the wind power sector, powerful reminders that collective action can overcome rooted resistance even in highly financialized and hostile contexts.

From South Africa, where NUMSA secured a wage deal while calling for industrial policy to protect the auto sector, to India, where courts ordered the regularization of contract workers and garment workers defied illegal closures, the message has been consistent: precarious work is not destiny. It is a choice, and one that can be challenged.

In Quebec, ArcelorMittal workers won a stronger collective agreement, proving that even global giants can be held accountable when unions are organized and persistent. While in Mexico more than 3,000 workers secured a hard-fought settlement after a prolonged strike at ArcelorMittal over profit-sharing and working conditions, including wage gains and the withdrawal of legal actions against workers and their union.

In Bangladesh, Pakistan, Korea, and Morocco workers won Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBAs), regularization and recognition through strikes and negotiation alike, often in contexts where the risks are high and the space for union activity is limited.

We also saw a powerful defence of fundamental rights in Indonesia, where unions successfully challenged the regressive omnibus law, demonstrating once again that determined collective action can push back against legislative attacks aimed at undermining labour protections and bargaining rights.

In Korea, unions welcomed the decision to uphold the impeachment of President Yoon, a powerful reminder that trade unions are not only economic actors but defenders of democracy itself.

And in sectors that define the future of the global economy, shipbreaking, semiconductors, energy and automobiles, union victories this year have shown that transformation does not have to come at the expense of workers’ rights. The entry into force of the Hong Kong Convention on ship recycling is a milestone, decades in the making, improving safety and shifting power in one of the world’s most dangerous industries.

In Cambodia, progress was also made on wages in global supply chains, as international brands signed an agreement with IndustriALL to support collectively bargained wages in the garment, textile, footwear and travel goods sector. These legally binding commitments require brands to back factory-level collective bargaining and responsible purchasing practices, marking an important step toward improving wages and working conditions for workers in a sector that is central to the country’s economy.

These are not isolated successes. They are part of a broader pattern. They show that even in an era marked by war, inflation, climate crisis and corporate greed, organized workers can still shape outcomes.

This matters, because the challenges ahead are immense.

Beyond national struggles, 2025 also brought important progress at global level. IndustriALL renewed and strengthened global agreements with multinational companies including ASOS and the H&M Group, reinforcing commitments on freedom of association, collective bargaining and workers’ rights across complex global supply chains. These agreements matter because they move responsibility up the chain, making clear that brands cannot outsource risk while retaining profit.

Artificial intelligence is advancing faster than regulation, and too often without workers at the table. Global value chains are being reorganized in response to geopolitical tensions, with workers paying the price through job losses, outsourcing and weakened protections. Oligarch power, economic and political, is tightening its grip in many parts of the world, undermining democracy and labour rights alike. And the climate crisis is no longer a future threat; it is a present reality, already reshaping industries, regions and livelihoods.

These are not separate issues. They are deeply connected. And they all raise the same fundamental question: who decides?

At Congress, our affiliates answered that question clearly. Workers must decide. Trade unions must be central actors in shaping the future of work, industry and society. That is why the Action Plan 2025–2029 adopted in Sydney is so important.

The Action Plan is a political commitment. It sets out how we will strengthen union power, expand collective bargaining, defend democratic space, advance Just Transition, and confront corporate power across global supply chains. It reflects the lived reality of our affiliates, and it gives direction to our collective work over the next four years.

But no action plan delivers itself.

What gives meaning to this mandate is the daily work of our affiliates: the shop stewards negotiating under pressure, the organizers facing intimidation, the workers who strike knowing the risks but acting anyway, the women and young workers pushing to be heard and to lead. It is also the work of our staff and partners, supporting struggles across borders, building capacity and keeping international solidarity alive when it is most needed.

Behind these achievements are real people. Workers dealing with repeated crises, organizers facing pressure and intimidation, and unions that keep going even when progress is slow and uncertain.

This is why solidarity is essential to our movement. No affiliate stands alone, and no struggle is isolated. Victories in one place strengthen workers everywhere, and attacks on rights concern us all.

As we move into 2026, we do so with pride in what has been achieved, and with urgency about what lies ahead. The world of work will continue to be contested terrain. Capital will continue to push its interests aggressively. Governments will continue, too often, to fall short of their responsibility to protect workers and communities.

IndustriALL and affiliates will continue to respond by organizing, by bargaining, by building alliances, and by insisting that dignity, democracy and justice are non-negotiable.

Congress has given us a clear mandate. The year behind us has shown what is possible. We enter that future together, confident in our collective strength, grounded in solidarity, and committed to defending the rights and dignity of working people everywhere.

Kenyan court upholds trade union rights

The dispute began in July 2025 when Springtech management, in what the union described as a deliberate attempt to derail an organising drive, demanded that newly unionised employees resign from being members of the AUKMW. Eleven workers who refused to budge staged a brief shopfloor picket, prompting their arrest by police on charges of violence – allegations later dropped by the Director of Public Prosecutions for lack of evidence. The employer simultaneously suspended the workers and halted the remittance of union dues collected through the check-off system, effectively disrupting an ongoing conciliation process. The AUKMW sought and obtained a certificate of urgency that blocked further dismissals.

In a judgment delivered on 8 December, Justice M. Mbaru of the Mombasa court ruled that employees enjoy explicit constitutional protection under Article 41 for joining or participating in lawful trade union activities, whether outside working hours or, with or without the employer’s consent. Termination of employment on such grounds, the judge held, constitutes an unfair labour practice under sections 46(c) and (d) of the Employment Act.

The court ordered Springtech to grant the union immediate access to the workplace for recruitment until it secures a simple majority of the workforce – the threshold required under Kenyan law for formal recognition – and to resume deducting and remitting dues within 30 days. The 11 suspended workers are to return to work immediately and to receive full back pay from July 15, 2025.

Welcoming the judgment, Rose Omamo, general secretary of the AUKMW and vice president of IndustriALL said:

“This is a timely reminder to employers that the rights to organise and participate in union activities without intimidation and harassment are firmly enshrined in both the constitution and labour laws.”

The ruling, she added, clears the path for the union to achieve the membership level needed for statutory recognition at the plant.

The case is the latest in a series of labour court victories for AUKMW and other unions that are strengthening organising rights in Kenya’s manufacturing and export-processing zones, where employers are resorting to unfair dismissals and other union busting tactics to thwart unionization.

African trade unions want critical minerals revenues to fund development

The declaration, by 35 trade unionists from 14 countries, was made at a colloquium to celebrate Africa Industrialization Day under the theme: “Empowering workers in the AGMS: Balancing industrialization with human rights due diligence.”

The colloquium heard that Africa sits on more than 30 per cent of the world’s reserves of the minerals that will power the energy transition: cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo, copper in Zambia, nickel in Madagascar, manganese in Gabon, graphite in Mozambique, lithium in Zimbabwe and rare earths scattered from Namibia to Burundi. Yet the continent’s share of the value created from these resources has barely changed since the colonial era.

The declaration, jointly adopted by the IndustriALL Global Union Sub-Saharan Africa regional office and ITUC-Africa, shows that organized labour wants workers and communities to benefit from critical transition minerals (CTMs). “There can be no green transition without decent work,” the unions insist, demanding permanent contracts, living wages, sector-wide collective bargaining and enforceable supply-chain accountability for Western and Chinese multinational corporations.

According to McKinsey estimates meeting global net-zero targets by 2050 will require US$3.5 trillion of investment in critical minerals, with Africa potentially capturing US$1 trillion of that if it moves up the value chain. At present, the continent exports almost all its output as ore or low-grade concentrate. For instance, a smartphone battery that retails for US$50 may contain Congolese cobalt worth less than ten cents at the mine gate. The rest of the margin accrues in refineries in China, battery plants in South Korea or Germany and assembly lines in California or Shenzhen. Meanwhile, the Democratic Republic of Congo earned just US$1.2 billion in cobalt royalties in 2024 despite exporting material worth over US$20 billion on world markets.

Further, the unions’ demands are that the AGMS must mandate local processing and manufacturing. For example, batteries can be manufactured in Kolwezi, cathodes in Kitwe, precursor chemicals in Johannesburg backed by binding local-content rules and social clauses in new investment packages. They insist that the strategy’s proposed 5 per cent of payroll for skills funds and 1 per cent of sales for research and development be co-governed by unions. They also demand renegotiation of existing contracts to stop profit-shifting and illicit financial flows, with revenues channelled into sovereign wealth funds rather than externalized to tax havens.

The unions want environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards to be implemented with explicit labour protections including freedom of association, occupational health and safety, and decent work.

The colloquium emphasized that Africa’s working-age population will grow by about 450 million people by 2050 but without industrial jobs on a massive scale, that demographic dividend risks becoming a social catastrophe. “Resource-for-security” deals, unions warn, risk turning mineral provinces into new arenas of proxy conflict.

“Africa is rich beneath the ground but poor above it and this must change,” said Martha Molema, ITUC-Africa president.

“Critical minerals must power African industrialization and decarbonization, support manufacturing industries and create jobs for the youth. Further, women in mining must be given licences and financial support to mine critical minerals,”

said Rose Omamo, IndustriALL vice president and ITUC-Africa deputy president.

Le NUMSA signe un accord salarial et appelle à une réaction politique pour protéger le secteur automobile

L’accord, qui court jusqu’en 2028, prévoit une augmentation de 7 % à compter de juillet 2025, suivie d’une augmentation soit de 5,5 %, soit du montant de l’indice des prix à la consommation (IPC), en prenant le plus élevé des deux, pour chacune des deux années suivantes. Les travailleurs et travailleuses recevront également une gratification non imposable de 12.500 rands (720 dollars), des cotisations d’aide médicale inchangées et une augmentation de l’indemnité de transport.

Les membres du NUMSA des sept équipementiers opérant en Afrique du Sud pour BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota et Volkswagen, ont approuvé l’accord.

“Le NUMSA se félicite de la signature de cet accord, d’autant plus que le syndicat était dans une impasse avec les employeurs et que nous étions au bord de la grève. Heureusement, nous avons pu conclure cette série de négociations salariales et le syndicat est reconnaissant des efforts déployés par l’équipe de négociation qui a travaillé sans relâche pour parvenir à cet accord”,

a déclaré Irvin Jim, Secrétaire général du NUMSA.

Tout en se félicitant de cet accord, le NUMSA souhaite du mouvement au niveau de la politique industrielle. Par exemple, les véhicules importés représentent désormais 63 % des ventes de voitures neuves, en forte hausse ces dernières années, une grande partie de cette augmentation provenant des constructeurs à bas coûts de Chine et d’Inde, membres comme l’Afrique du Sud du groupe des BRICS (Brésil, Russie, Inde, Chine et Afrique du Sud), dont les exportations bénéficient de coûts de production subventionnés et d’économies d’échelle. Le NUMSA fait valoir que l’Afrique du Sud ne peut pas être compétitive uniquement sur les prix et fait pression sur le gouvernement pour qu’il adopte une politique industrielle globale.

Les revendications du syndicat sont triples : des exigences plus strictes en matière de contenu local et des mesures commerciales correctives pour lutter contre le dumping des partenaires du BRICS, des exigences politiques imposant aux marques chinoises et indiennes d’établir des usines d’assemblage et de fabrication de composants locales et un programme de réindustrialisation plus large englobant l’acier, l’énergie et la valorisation en aval. Le plan directeur de l’industrie à l’horizon 2035 vise déjà une valeur ajoutée locale de 60 %, et le NUMSA insiste pour que le gouvernement le mette désormais en œuvre.

Le NUMSA appelle à la tenue urgente d’un sommet tripartite réunissant le gouvernement, les syndicats et les équipementiers afin d’élaborer des mesures contraignantes avant que d’autres fermetures d’usines ou réductions d’effectifs ne se produisent. L’inaction persistante risque d’entraîner des pertes d’emplois massives dans une industrie qui emploie encore plus de 110.000 travailleurs et travailleuses directement et soutient un écosystème beaucoup plus vaste de fournisseurs de composants.

“Nous félicitons le NUMSA d’avoir continué à se battre pour des salaires décents et de meilleures conditions dans l’industrie automobile et d’avoir négocié avec succès cet accord salarial. La fabrication et la valorisation tout au long des chaînes de valeur sont essentielles, car elles ancrent les initiatives d’industrialisation de l’Afrique du Sud”,

a déclaré Paule-France Ndessomin, Secrétaire régionale d’IndustriALL pour l’Afrique subsaharienne.

NUMSA signs wage deal, calls for policy response to protect auto sector

The agreement, running until 2028, provides a 7 per cent increase effective from July 2025, followed by the higher of 5.5 per cent or Consumer Price Index (CPI) in each of the subsequent two years. Workers will also receive a tax-free gratuity of R12,500 (US$720), unchanged medical-aid contributions and an increased transport allowance.

NUMSA members from the seven original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) operating in South Africa — BMW, Ford, Isuzu, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Toyota and Volkswagen — endorsed the deal.

“NUMSA welcomes the signing of this agreement, particularly because the union had deadlocked with employers and we were on the verge of a strike. Thankfully, we were able to conclude this round of wage talks and the union is grateful for the efforts made by the negotiations team who worked tirelessly to secure this deal,”

said Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary.

While welcoming the settlement, NUMSA wants engagement on industrial policy. For instance, imported vehicles now account for 63 per cent of new-car sales, up sharply in recent years, with much of the surge coming from low-cost producers in China and India — fellow BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) members whose exports benefit from subsidised input costs and scale advantages. NUMSA argues that South Africa cannot compete on price alone and is pressing the government for a comprehensive industrial-policy response.

The union’s demands are threefold: stricter local-content requirements and trade remedies to curb dumping by BRICS partners, policy requirements for Chinese and Indian brands to establish local assembly and component-manufacturing plants, and a broader re-industrialization package encompassing steel, energy and downstream beneficiation. The industry’s own masterplan to 2035 already targets 60 per cent local value addition and NUMSA insists that the government must now enforce it.

NUMSA is calling for an urgent tripartite summit involving government, labour and the OEMs to craft binding measures before further plant closures or shift reductions occur. Continued inaction risks massive job losses in an industry that still employs over 110,000 workers directly and sustains a far larger ecosystem of component suppliers.

“We applaud NUMSA for continuing to fight for living wages and better conditions in the auto industry and for successfully negotiating this wage deal. Manufacturing and beneficiation along value chains are key as they anchor South Africa’s industrialization initiatives,”

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

At least 50 miners killed in Congo bridge collapse; unions demand action

According to IndustriALL affiliated unions in the DRC, this preventable disaster was triggered by excessive force by law enforcement, including the issue of live ammunition, which led to a stampede after heavy rains flooded the site. In a bid to escape, over 10,000 artisanal miners were forced onto a makeshift bridge leading to its collapse. The unions said the bridge collapse, exposes systemic failures in health and safety oversight that continues to haunt the ASM sector in the Central African country.

“The sheer scale of this loss, compounded by the alleged unsafe construction of a makeshift bridge across a flooded trench demands immediate comprehensive action. We call upon the DRC government to launch an urgent transparent investigation to determine the root cause of this disaster and ensure that those responsible are held accountable,”

said Mpho Phakedi, NUM general secretary.

The DRC’s mining sector, which produces over 70 per cent of the world’s cobalt, relies heavily on ASM, which employs 1.5 to 2 million workers directly and supports countless more through informal supply chains. Yet, these miners operate in unregulated sites prone to landslides, floods and structural failures, inadequate or no personal protective equipment and enforcement undermined by corruption, conflict and economic desperation caused by poverty.

However, unions said the Mulando incident is not isolated as similar catastrophes have killed hundreds in recent years, underscoring a crisis that demands immediate transformative policy reform from the government.

“We urgently call on the DRC government to ratify International Labour Organization (ILO) Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (C176) as a corrective measure,” said Didier Okonda, the general secretary of Travailleurs Unis des Mines, Metallurgies, Energie, Chimie et Industries Connexes (TUMEC). Convention 176, which the DRC has yet to ratify, despite campaigns by trade unions, establishes binding standards for risk assessment, emergency preparedness, worker training and inspection regimes in mining operations.

Ratification would compel the creation of a national mining safety authority, mandatory site inspections and community consultation mechanisms essential steps to avert future tragedies like Mulando. Equally critical is the formalization of ASM to break the cycle of informality that breeds vulnerability, recommended the unions. The ILO Transition from the Informal to the Formal Economy Recommendation, 2015 (No. 204), provides a roadmap for this shift.

In DRC, where trade unions like the Confédération Syndicale du Congo (CSC) and other IndustriALL affiliates are already advocating for its monitoring, full implementation could streamline licensing, provide access to credit and markets and integrate miners into social protection systems. The unions are urging the government to convene a national tripartite dialogue involving miners, employers and civil society to operationalize R204, targeting ASM cooperatives for pilot formalization programmes and investing in infrastructure like secure bridges and flood barriers at high-risk sites.

As part of recommendations at a battery supply chain roundtable in Kolwezi in which IndustriALL affiliates participated in October, a human rights due diligence forum will be formed to protect workers in the formal and ASM sectors. Further, the forum will support enforcement of supply chain due diligence under frameworks like the OECD Guidelines.

“A human rights due diligence approach ensures that what happened at Mulondo will never happen again. Artisanal miners rights and dignity must be respected and protected by the laws and regulations,”

said Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL mining director.

“What happened with this case in DRC is a clear example on how mining is dangerous work around the world. Critical minerals are important for the world particularly in decarbonization of global economy and working conditions of miners must be improved through human rights due diligence. While mourning for our killed fellow miners, we demand accountability from the government in order to end further deaths and hazardous conditions for miners,”

said assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan.

Photo: Shutterstock

50 mineurs au moins tués dans l'effondrement d'un pont au Congo; les syndicats exigent que des mesures soient prises

D'après les affiliés d'IndustriALL de ce pays, cette catastrophe, qui aurait pu être évitée, résulte d'un mouvement de panique causé par la présence de militaires qui ont aggravé la situation en tirant des coups de feu à balles réelles, après que de fortes pluies aient inondé le site. Dans leur fuite et la ruée qui a suivi, plus de 10.000 creuseurs ont été dirigés vers un pont de fortune qui s'est effondré. Pour les syndicats, l'effondrement de ce pont illustre les failles systémiques du contrôle de la santé et la sécurité qui continuent de hanter le secteur de l'EMAPE dans ce pays d'Afrique centrale.

"L'ampleur de cette catastrophe, à laquelle s'ajoute la construction d'un pont de fortune branlant pour franchir des tranchées inondées nécessite une intervention immédiate et totale. Nous appelons le gouvernement de RDC à lancer d'urgence une enquête transparente afin de déterminer les causes profondes de ce désastre et de s'assurer que les responsables rendent des comptes,"

a déclaré Mpho Phakedi, le secrétaire général du NUM.

Le secteur minier de la RDC, qui représente plus de 70 pour cent de la production mondiale de cobalt, dépend en grande partie de l'EMAPE qui emploie directement de 1,5 à 2 millions de travailleurs et quantités d'autres dans ses chaînes d'approvisionnement informelles. Or, ces gens travaillent dans des sites non réglementés où sont fréquents les glissements de terrain, les inondations et les défaillances structurelles, l'absence ou l'insuffisance d'équipements de protection individuelle et une application de la réglementation gangrenée par la corruption, les conflits et la détresse économique causée par la pauvreté.

Pourtant, d'après les syndicats, l'accident de Mulondo n'est pas un cas isolé, d'autres catastrophes du même genre ayant fait des centaines de victimes ces dernières années, soulignant une crise qui exige une réforme de politique transformative et immédiate de la part du gouvernement.

"Nous appelons d'urgence le gouvernement de la RDC à ratifier la Convention n°176 de 1995 de l'OIT sur la sécurité et la santé dans les mines pour remédier à ces situations", déclare Didier Okonda, le secrétaire général des Travailleurs unis des Mines, Métallurgies, Énergie, Chimie et Industries connexes (TUMEC). La convention 176, que la RDC n'a pas encore ratifiée malgré les campagnes menées par les syndicats, instaure des normes contraignantes en matière d'évaluation des risques, de préparation aux situations d'urgence, de formation du personnel et de régime d'inspection des exploitations minières.

Sa ratification imposerait la création d'une autorité nationale de la sécurité minière, de mécanismes obligatoires d'inspection des sites et de consultations de la communauté, autant de mesures essentielles pour éviter de nouvelles tragédies comme celle de Mulondo. Tout aussi essentielle est la formalisation de l'EMAPE que recommandent les syndicats dans le but de briser le cycle de l'informalité, source de vulnérabilité. La Recommandation (n° 204) de 2015 de l'OIT sur la transition de l'économie informelle vers l'économie formelle propose une feuille de route pour cette transition.

En RDC, où des syndicats comme la Confédération syndicale du Congo (CSC) et d'autres affiliés d'IndustriALL plaident déjà en faveur de l'application de ses mécanismes de contrôle, sa mise en œuvre complète pourrait simplifier l'octroi des licences, ouvrir l'accès au crédit et aux marchés et intégrer les mineurs dans les régimes de protection sociale. Les syndicats exhortent le gouvernement à organiser un dialogue tripartite national impliquant les mineurs, les employeurs et la société civile pour mettre en œuvre la recommandation 204, cibler des coopératives de l'EMAPE pour des programmes pilotes de formalisation et des investissements dans des infrastructures telles que des ponts solides et des digues de protection dans les sites à haut risque.

Dans le cadre d'une recommandation adoptée à une table ronde sur une chaîne d'approvisionnement de batteries, à Kolwezi, à laquelle participaient des affiliés d'IndustriALL en octobre, un forum sur le devoir de vigilance en matière de droits de l'homme sera créé afin de protéger les travailleurs du secteur formel et de l'EMAPE. Par ailleurs, ce forum appuiera la mise en vigueur du devoir de vigilance dans les chaînes d'approvisionnement dans des cadres tels que les principes directeurs de l'OCDE.

"Une démarche axée sur le devoir de vigilance en matière de droits de l'homme garantit que ce qui s'est produit à Mulondo ne se reproduira jamais. Il faut que les droits et la dignité des mineurs artisanaux soient respectés et protégés par la loi et les règlements,"

a déclaré Glen Mpufane, le directeur d'IndustriALL en charge des mines.

"Ce qui s'est passé avec ce cas en RDC montre bien la dangerosité de l'activité minière pour les travailleurs du monde entier. Les minéraux stratégiques sont importants pour le monde, en particulier pour la décarbonation de l'économie mondiale et les conditions de travail des mineurs doivent être améliorées en recourant au devoir de vigilance en matière de droits de l'homme. Alors que nous portons le deuil de nos camarades mineurs, nous demandons des comptes au gouvernement afin d'empêcher de nouveaux décès et de mettre fin aux conditions dangereuses pour les mineurs,"

a dit le secrétaire général adjoint Kemal Özkan.

Photo: Shutterstock

Curbing violations by Chinese multinationals in African critical minerals boom

Controlling 85-90 per cent of rare-earth refining, China has poured billions of dollars into Sub-Saharan African mines via its Belt and Road Initiative, often bartering infrastructure for raw resources. In return, the minerals feed vertical supply chains for China’s factories. About US$4.5 billion has been invested in lithium mining.

In response to the violations, IndustriALL Global Union affiliates in Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Zambia, and Zimbabwe, are adopting human rights due diligence (HRDD) as one of the strategies to stop workers and human rights violations. Unions have also raised concerns over environmental degradation during the mining of critical minerals by Chinese multinationals.

The violations are on the rights to join trade unions, on collective bargaining, health and safety, discrimination, racism, gender-based violence and harassment, precarious working conditions, and living wages. There is also weak enforcement of national labour laws and international standards by governments while corruption is common. There have been cases of physical assaults of workers by Chinese supervisors in Zimbabwe and elsewhere, as well as environmental degradation and water pollution.

A battery-supply-chain roundtable in the DRC, which alone supplies over 70 per cent of global cobalt, urged unions to launch an HRDD body to spotlight abuses and push the state into protective action. At China Molybdenum’s Tenke Fungurume mine – part of the Sino-Congolese ventures – the unions welcomed an impending audit by the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance as a first for Chinese firms on the continent. In Zimbabwe, the Diamond and Allied Minerals Workers Union battles intimidation at Sinomine’s Arcadia and Bikita lithium mines.

The Mine Workers Union of Botswana said that MMG’s Khoemacau copper mine imported Chinese labour to quash a strike over poor working conditions. Zambia’s February disaster at Sino-Metals Leach, a subsidiary of China Nonferrous Metal Mining Group, underscores the perils of negligence after a tailings dam burst unleashed 1.5m tonnes of acidic sludge laced with cyanide, arsenic and heavy metals into the Mwambashi and Kafue rivers. The 100km toxic sludge killed fish and livestock, withered maize and groundnuts, and poisoned water for 700,000 Kitwe residents, triggering fishing bans and supply cut-offs. Short-term illnesses like headaches and diarrhoea were reported while long term health risks will include organ failure and birth defects. The Mineworkers Union of Zambia is now campaigning for community redress and communities are taking Sino-Metals to court.

“HRDD in Chinese multinationals mines is vital because it is an inclusive strategy which safeguards workers and communities, enforces government accountability and prescribes remedies,”

said Glen Mpufane, IndustriALL director for mining and diamonds.

HRDD in Chinese multinational mines is one of the issues that will be discussed at the global mining conference in Sydney, Australia on 2 November.

Court ruling reinstates retrenched workers at ArcelorMittal South Africa

The retrenchments will affect over 3500 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs along the value chain. AMSA attributes the retrenchments to high energy costs, cheap imports, and logistics challenges on transportation.

The long steel making company issued a retrenchment notice for workers at its operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging in January this year but before consultations were concluded the AMSA retrenched workers on October 21. This prompted the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), which is the majority union at the company, to apply for an urgent interdict at the Labour Court to protect the interests of the workers.

The Labour Court order, issued on 27 October, ruled in favour of NUMSA, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, stating that AMSA must follow a fair process by engaging with the union in negotiations over the retrenchments, and to start fair consultations within 10 days. The court said all dismissed workers must be reinstated and paid for the period they were retrenched. Further, ArcelorMittal is not allowed to dismiss any workers at its Newcastle and Vereeniging operations based on the January Section 189 notice which informed workers of the employer’s intention to retrench. The court ruled that AMSA must issue a new notice.

On the retrenchments, NUMSA said it wants “meaningful joint-consensus seeking consultations” on the closure of the operations.

“This latest victory is another example of NUMSA consistently fighting for workers and their families and provides an opportunity to possibly look at alternatives to retrenchment,”

said Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary.

NUMSA argued that it is dishonest for AMSA to be receiving financial bailouts from the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) while retrenching workers at the same time. NUMSA has also picketed at the IDC offices in Johannesburg in February demanding urgent action to stop the retrenchments.

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

“AMSA must always consult with the union and negotiate in good faith. It is unfair on workers to be dismissed when negotiations are still taking place.”

South Africa is the continent’s largest steel producer, accounting for over 10 per cent of continental steel production.