Glencore Faces Off Against Labor Group on Congo Mine Conditions
- Swiss-based IndustriALL calls on carmakers to pressure miner
- Glencore’s mines are vital source of cobalt for electric cars
A mining truck drives past an open pit excavation in Mutanda.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
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Commodity giant Glencore Plc defended working conditions at its mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo after an international labor federation said its employees are poorly treated and underpaid.
The spat with Geneva-based IndustriALL, a global union federation that says it represents more than 50 million workers in 140 countries, comes as some of the world’s biggest companies, from Apple Inc. to Volkswagen AG, pursue multi-million-dollar deals for Glencore’s prized Congolese cobalt.