Labor

Credit: Freesvg.comCredit: Freesvg.comLabor

Strengthening Worker Voice: Reflections on IRMA’s First Labor Members Meeting

29 October 2025By

The Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA) marked an important milestone with its first-ever meeting dedicated to labor members. This gathering brought together worker representatives from different regions and sectors, creating a space to exchange experiences and discuss how to strengthen the role of labor within the IRMA system. The meeting was framed not simply as a coordination platform, but as the foundation of a community that amplifies worker voices within the IRMA system.

The discussions highlighted the importance of ensuring that worker participation goes beyond the audit process and becomes central to the continuous improvement of mining operations.

The meeting included a presentation on the current scope of mining sites engaged with IRMA, showing the system’s growing global reach. Over one hundred companies and more than a hundred mine sites are currently engaged in the IRMA system, through either self-assessments or independent audits. The discussions explored how labor can leverage these opportunities to strengthen worker representation and ensure that mine audits reflect the realities on the ground.

Members also learned how other sector groups within IRMA such as affected communities, finance, civil society, and purchasing representatives have structured their collaboration. These insights provided useful examples of how labor can organize its own network to promote coordination, share knowledge, and strengthen the IRMA system.

A key outcome of the meeting was the identification of priorities for the labor sector. Members emphasized the need for greater capacity building and awareness-raising to support and build the capacity of unions and workers to understand IRMA’s Standard and assessment process. They proposed developing accessible training materials, using visual tools and translations to make information easier to share locally. Participants also called for structured onboarding support for new members and a step-by-step guide to participating in audit-related activities.

Another priority discussed was the importance of stronger coordination and collaboration. Members emphasized the need for consistent information sharing and regular updates from IRMA to ensure that labor perspectives are well integrated into ongoing activities. The meeting concluded with a proposal to hold regular bi-monthly calls, which will allow members to share progress, align priorities, and maintain momentum between in-person meetings.

The inaugural meeting marked a significant step forward in IRMA’s engagement with the labor sector. If you are an IRMA labor member and would like to be part of these conversations going forward, please contact Davidzo Muchawaya (dmuchawaya@responsiblemining.net)

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Glen MpufaneGlen MpufaneLabor

A Farewell to Glen Mpufane

14 October 2025By

It is with enormous gratitude and affection that we note that Glen Mpufane of IndustriALL, one of IRMA’s founding Board Members, is leaving the IRMA Board. His fellow Board members and colleagues have taken this milestone as an opportunity to explain why he has been such an important part of IRMA’s creation and success.

Aimee Boulanger
Aimee Boulanger

Aimee Boulanger, IRMA Executive Director:

“As long as there has been IRMA, there has been Glen Mpufane at the leadership table, speaking for the rights for workers, and the people living closest to mining operations. Having worked in underground mines in South Africa, to serving the global labor movement, Glen’s career is unparalleled in the respect and trust he’s earned. Glen holds industry to fulfilling its opportunity to better serve people and the lands on which they rely, and he has held IRMA’s accountability to be a constructive lever to this end. We commit to carrying on his dedication — it’s now in our DNA.”

Jamie Bonham
Jamie Bonham

Jamie Bonham, NEI Investments and IRMA Board Chair:

“Glen has helped set the foundation upon which IRMA thrives today. His commitment to the ethos of collaboration and the integrity with which he engaged on tough issues is weaved into the fabric of IRMA and it has been a pleasure and an honour to learn from him. He is also a huge footy (“soccer”) fan and if that isn’t a sign of intelligence, I don’t know what is.”

Jim Wormington
Jim Wormington

Jim Wormington, Human Rights Watch:

“Glen’s quiet but incisive wisdom has been a huge asset to IRMA. He embodies the spirit of principled collaboration needed to solve problems while advancing rights, and it’s been a great pleasure getting to know him over the past few years.”

Johannes Danz
Johannes Danz

Johannes Danz, Mercedes-Benz Group:

“Glen has been nothing less than a calm rock on stormy days—consistently and constructively making the case for workers’ rights with utmost integrity. It has been an honor serving on the board with him.”

Sarah Makumbe
Sarah Makumbe

Sarah Makumbe, formerly of Anglo American:

“I worked with Glen on the IRMA board for three years and I learnt a lot from him. He is a partner who listens objectively to all views and can also challenge respectfully. I observed him engage in difficult conversations through multi-stakeholder partnerships like IRMA to ensure the best outcomes for the constituents he served, the amazing mining workforce. Glen is also very knowledgeable about various jurisdictions and was keen to extend his networks to aid collaboration. It was a real pleasure to work with Glen and wish him a restful next chapter.”

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Black, Chinese & White Laborers in S. African Gold Mine [c1890-1923] Frank & Frances Carpenter. Credit: ralphrepo/CCA 2.0 generic licenseBlack, Chinese & White Laborers in S. African Gold Mine [c1890-1923] Frank & Frances Carpenter. Credit: ralphrepo/CCA 2.0 generic licenseLabor

How IRMA Benefits Labor Organizations

9 April 2025By

How IRMA benefits Labor thumbnailA new resource for the labor sector is now available on the IRMA website.

Labor unions and workers, as key stakeholders in mining operations, have a significant interest in how workplace conditions, labor rights, and safety standards are managed. This is particularly important as the industry expands to meet the growing demand for minerals essential to the global energy transition. Current and emerging regulations, along with the expectations of workers, labor organizations, and mining companies seeking to mitigate risk and maintain a stable workforce, are driving the industry to adopt more transparent and responsible labor practices.

IRMA recognizes the challenges workers and labor organizations face, including inconsistencies in regulatory enforcement, historical gaps in labor protections, and the complexities of operating in high-risk regions. How IRMA Benefits Labor summarizes how labor organizations and workers can use IRMA’s credible system to advocate for their rights, improve working conditions, and ensure greater accountability in the mining industry as it expands to meet the growing demand.

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Labor

IRMA Secretariat statement re Kostenko tragedy

3 November 2023By

Statement of Aimee Boulanger, Executive Director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA), regarding the tragic loss of life of 46 mine workers at ArcelorMittal’s Kostenko mine in Kazakhstan on Saturday, 28 October 2023.

ArcelorMittal has served on IRMA’s Board of Directors since 2015.

The heartbreaking disaster at ArcelorMittal’s Kostenko mine weighs heavily on me, our staff, and IRMA board members. IRMA’s vision is a world where the mining industry respects the human rights and aspirations of affected communities; provides safe, healthy and supportive workplaces; minimizes harm to the environment; and leaves positive legacies. Devastating loss of life, such as has occurred in Kazakhstan, brings into sharp focus the urgency of bringing this vision into reality. At too many mine sites around the world, workers labor under unsafe conditions—and this urgently needs to change. IRMA exists to help create this change.

In coming weeks, IRMA’s labor sector leaders will meet with ArcelorMittal representatives. IRMA, as an organization, won’t take a further stance on this issue until informed by the outcomes of conversations between IndustriALL, USW and ArcelorMittal, as these are the organizations best set to make a recommendation to the IRMA Board of Directors.

IRMA is a system seeking to drive more responsible mining practices around the world, responsive to the values of six governing houses, including labor unions, mining companies, NGOs, affected communities, investors and companies who purchase mined materials. These six houses equally govern IRMA’s multistakeholder system.

We extend our deepest sympathies to the families and loved ones of those whose lives were lost at this ArcelorMittal mine site. May our work together prevent future losses of life and ensure greater welfare for people and the lands they rely on.

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NGOs and CommunitiesNGOs and CommunitiesSectors

Happy New Year

19 January 2023By

New Year, New Board Members

As we welcome the new year, we are thrilled to welcome three new board members:

Community Sector: Pavel Sulyandziga, Russia

new IRMA board member for the community sector: Pavel Sulyandziga
Pavel Sulyandziga

Pavel is an Indigenous leader and human rights activist from the Bikin River valley in Siberia. He is dedicated to protecting indigenous communities, whose rights are often violated by business. Pavel has a PhD in Economics and is President of the International Indigenous Fund for Development and Solidarity “Batani” (Batani Foundation). He’s currently a Visiting Scholar at Dartmouth College (US) and at Law School University of Maine and was a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (2005 – 2010) and Member of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights (2011 -2018). He joins Meshack Mbangula of Mining Affected Communities United in Action (MACUA) in representing the Community Sector.

Labor Sector: Meg Gingrich, Canada

USW CA logoMeg Gingrich is Assistant to the National Director of United Steelworkers (USW) Canada. For ten years she’s been on staff at USW Canada’s National Office, first as a researcher and now as the Assistant to the National Director. In that position she’s the senior administrative and policy advisor to the USW in Canada, with lead responsibility on issues relating to trade, industrial policy, and strategic planning. She’s also the central liaison on these issues with the leadership of USW United States. Meg is also the President of Blue Green Canada, which was co-founded in 2008 along with Environmental Defence as a joint labour-environment-community coalition. She joins Glen Mpufane of IndustriALL Global Union in representing the Labor Sector.

Purchaser Sector: Claudia Becker, Germany

new IRMA board member for the purchaser sector: Claudia Becker
Claudia Becker

Claudia is BMW Group’s Expert on Raw Material Strategy and Sustainable Supply Chain Management. Claudia has been working for the BMW Group since 2012 in operational and strategic purchasing functions. In 2016 she joined BMW’s responsible sourcing team with a focus on due diligence in mineral supply chains. Claudia works closely with supply chain partners and represents BMW in various international and cross-industry initiatives, such as Drive Sustainability, RMI and the GBA. Before joining the BMW Group, Claudia worked in the sector of international development cooperation including for the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) in Cambodia on sustainable urban development. Claudia has an academic background in Geography from the University of Bonn with a focus on development cooperation, sustainability, and urbanism. Claudia joins J.J. Messner de Latour of Microsoft in representing the Purchasing Sector.

As we welcome Claudia, Meg, and Pavel to the IRMA board, we reflect with appreciation on the invaluable contributions of those who have served IRMA’s governance since its founding: Dewa Mavhinga, Mike Kowalski, Anisa Kamadoli Costa, Samara Rudolph, Joan Krajewski, Ephi Banaynal dela Cruz, Susan Posnock, Joe Drexler, Mark Rowlinson, Alan Knight, Nuskmata, Larson Bill, Loretta Williams, and many more to whom we owe deep appreciation for their work.

New Year, Same Unique Governance Model

While there are other multi-stakeholder, extraction-related and metals-related standards, IRMA’s governance model is unique: equal governing authority shared between six sectors with an interest in mining. For any board vote, if the two representatives from any given sector oppose a motion, the vote fails even if all other board members are in support. To our knowledge, the IRMA board is the only place in the world where communities, labor, and civil society have an equal voice alongside mining companies and other multinational corporations.

Looking Forward

2023 will be an important year in advancing IRMA’s vision: a world where the mining industry respects the human rights and aspirations of affected communities, provides safe, healthy and supportive workplaces, minimizes harm to the environment, and leaves positive legacies.

Our work to create financial value for mines independently assessed against the world’s most robust mining standard will take a major leap forward. Audit reports for at least ten mine sites will be released in 2023, including the first lithium mines assessed in IRMA. 2023 will also see the IRMA Standard expand to include exploration and development, before mines are operating, and also mineral processing operations, as well as updating the current Standard for active mining operations.

We do this work to integrate learning from the first mine audits, and to create value for an evolving definition of “best practices”, shared across stakeholder sectors, for environmental and social responsibility. As with all of IRMA’s work, this is only possible through the engagement of all affected stakeholders and we welcome your engagement.

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