Copper company busts union in Kazakhstan

Activists of the Trade Union of Mining & Metallurgy Workers of Republic of Kazakhstan (TUMMWRK) are under pressure to quit their union and join the company-controlled one. IndustriALL offers global solidarity.

Trade Union of Mining & Metallurgy Workers of Republic of Kazakhstan (TUMMWRK), an IndustriALL affiliate, reports that Kazakhmys, a copper company in Kazakhstan, is forcing TUMMWRK members to quit their union and join the company-controlled one.

The company has also prohibited sending union dues from workers’ salaries to TUMMWRK’s account, completely paralyzing the Kazakhmys branch of the union.

The conflict between the company and the union has persisted since September last year.

Kazakhmys controls 90 per cent of copper production in Kazakhstan. The company is registered in London and listed in the London Stock Exchange. It is included in the FTSE-100 Index.

IndustriALL general secretary Jyrki Raina sent a letter to the company’s board of directors, using its British address. In this letter he urged the company to restore good-faith relations with TUMMWRK and withdraw from anti-union tactics.

Raina noted, “If the interests of the union are ignored, IndustriALL Global Union will use the international mechanisms for defending union rights, and will also call the affiliates in the UK for help.”

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