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18 December, 2019The IndustriALL Global Union Anglo American global network meeting in Johannesburg on 11-12 December agreed to pursue global dialogue with Anglo American at least twice a year, on issues the company faces with regards to mineworkers and communities.
Senior executives from Anglo American attended the meeting, comprising over 30 delegates from IndustriALL affiliates that represent the company’s workforce in Australia, Botswana, Brazil, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The Friedrich Ebert Stiftung Trade Union Competence Centre for Sub Saharan Africa also attended the meeting, which was chaired by Lucineide Varjão Soares, the sector co-chair and president of CNQ-CUT in Brazil.
Nolitha Fakude, chair of the management board of Anglo American in South Africa, lead the company delegation and said the company is committed to improving workers and communities’ lives through responsible mining. She was accompanied by Froydis Cameron, international and government relations, and Hermien Botes, head of sustainability engagement.
The proposed framework of global dialogue between Anglo American and IndustriALL will be a platform for meaningful conversation about issues and challenges facing the company at global level, such as improving industrial relations, occupational health and safety, gender equity, Just Transition measures for climate change and the impact of Industry 4.0.
Further, the dialogue is an opportunity for exploring working together on Anglo American’s Sustainable Mining Plan and the UN Sustainable Development Goals. This will provide an opportunity to work jointly on diverse issues that include health, education, livelihoods, youth development, and community safety and health. The dialogue will also deal with responsible mining and the commitment to the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), a multi-stakeholder governance standard and independently third-party auditing initiative.
The global network agreed to continue with efforts to organize and strengthen collective bargaining.
Kemal Özkan
IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said:
“As a global union we are effective organizers with capacity to improve the lives of mineworkers, and we are also campaigners for living wages. Our success comes from working together through global solidarity from Australia, to Africa and Latin America and sharing information and experiences.
“We would like to build on previous meetings with Anglo American to negotiate a formal agreement that will meet some of our demands.”