Yahoo Finance Glencore shakes off Congo scrutiny ahead of bumper results
Mining giant Glencore is attempting to shrug off a row over its Congo copper mines as it prepares to unveil bumper profits.
The Swiss-based labour union IndustriAll visited Glencore’s operations in the Democratic Republic of Congo last week at the invitation of local union Tumec, but said it failed to gain access to some sites.
A spokesman for IndustriAll, which claims to represent 50m workers in 140 countries, said it wanted to investigate “poor” labour conditions at mines having been rebuffed in its attempts to “establish a mechanism to resolve labour disputes” with the FTSE 100 giant.
The union recently teamed up with Rio Tinto on a joint mission to a mine in Madagascar, having previously criticised the firm. Glencore told the delegation its hands were tied by a new law imposed by the governor that imposed strict conditions on visitors to mines.
A Glencore spokesman said: “We remain committed to maintaining open dialogue with all our stakeholders, including IndustriAll. To date, our operations in the DRC have had a positive relationship with the local union, Tumec. We reject IndustriAll’s allegations. The health and safety of our people is our top priority.”
Glencore is set to report a surge in adjusted earnings before interest, tax and other items of nearly $15bn (£10.6bn) at its annual results next week. It is forecast to pay out dividends of at least $1.3bn, as it benefits from rising prices of copper and coal.
