"Workers’ Human Rights Violations By Glencore Around The World", 2018

Civil society organisations have long criticized [Glencore] for its harmful impact on local communities and the environment. Glencore is also facing increased scrutiny by regulators in many countries over its business dealings and corporate governance practices, as well as a global campaign by unions to press the company to respect labour rights... [I]n Bolivia, Glencore workers who are paid on a production basis complain that safety equipment is substandard... In Zambia, a similar dynamic was reported from the workers of the Mopani Copper Mines, a Glencore subsidiary...In the Democratic Republic of Congo, workers’ complaints against Glencore copper and cobalt mining subsidiaries concern inadequate amounts of drinking water in some Glencore operations, with low quality food and lack of a designated eating area, obliging mine workers to eat where they work, sometimes around chemicals... the percentage of contractors... has constantly increased in recent years... causing a worrying casualisation of the workforce as it leaves workers without an adequate standard of living, equal remuneration for work of equal value... pension and health insurance and the right to form or join trade unions... Glencore’s systematic practice of violating workers’ human and labour rights... highlights the urgent need for an international legally binding instrument allowing the regulation of transnational corporations′ activities and their impacts on human rights... The CETIM urges the host states of Glencore and its subsidiaries to honour their human rights and international labour standards commitments by taking concrete steps to ensure that this company respects workers' rights to safety, health, decent income and freedom of peaceful assembly and association.