Industrial tribunal deals blow to BHP16 July, 2020IndustriALL’s affiliates CFMEU Mining and Energy and AWU welcome the decision by the Australian Fair Work Commission that BHP’s two enterprise agreements covering the mining giant’s in-house labour hire workforce cannot be approved.
Workers protest unpaid wages and retrenchments at South African gold mines16 July, 202018 picketing workers were arrested in Orkney on 13 July for protesting non-payment of wages and retrenchments at Kopanang and Tau Lekoa gold mines, as well as West Gold Plant. They were charged for violating Covid-19 lockdown regulations and released after two days.
Ukrainian coal miners win after 11-day protest14 July, 2020Since 30 June, hundreds of coal miners and their wives have been protesting in Kiev, Ukraine, demanding that coal mine operations restart and wage arrears are settled. On 12 July, protestors could finally return to their homes across Ukraine after the government guaranteed action.
Asarco guilty of unfair labour practices in US copper dispute17 June, 2020The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has issued a complaint against Asarco for unfair labour practices that sparked an eight month strike.
Coal India unions call for strike to oppose privatization16 June, 2020Central unions in India’s coal sector are calling for a three-day strike on 2 July, to oppose the government’s plan to auction coal blocks on to private companies for commercial mining.
Workers paid allowance after strike at DRC mine11 June, 2020Thousands of mine workers quarantined at Tenke Fungurume copper and cobalt mine in Democratic Republic of the Congo for two-months as part of prevention strategies for Covid-19, held a successful strike on 23 May for payment of a special allowance.
BHP violates enterprise agreement to change shift system10 June, 2020Citing Covid-19 measures as an excuse, mining giant BHP Billiton has unilaterally changed the shift system at an Australian coal mine.
Safety crisis in Indian mines call for ratification of ILO C-1765 June, 2020268 workers were killed and 748 workers suffered serious injuries in India’s mines between 2016 to 2019. A series of accidents in May suggest that 11 coal miners were killed and many more injured.
Workers in Peru and Chile question BHP's response to Covid-19 29 May, 2020Several unionized BHP workers in Peru and Chile are questioning the company's response to Covid-19. They state that new infections persist in Peru and that in Chile the company recruits only workers who do not have pre-existing health conditions.
Global dialogue with Glencore addresses Southern African Coronavirus crisis28 May, 2020Dialogue between commodities multinational Glencore and unions in the mining industry has led to a joint approach to managing disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
