New partnership in South Africa strengthens workers’ rights in critical minerals value chains

A partnership for decent work

With the global demand for critical minerals rising, mineworkers and trade unions are facing growing pressure. NUM has raised concerns about casualisation, subcontracting and the creation of a two-tier workforce, which can weaken collective bargaining and increase insecurity for workers.

The partnership aims to build the capacity of trade unions in the critical minerals sector. Through social dialogue, workers, employers, governments and communities can work together to address labour rights risks, negotiate fair conditions and contribute to more sustainable mining policies.

Worker education is essential

NUM National Education Secretary  Lefty Mashego highlighted the importance of worker education:

“Our members will understand what their rights mean and, therefore, we will be better prepared to defend them and to correctly characterise these conditions of service so that they are not exploited by a lack of knowledge.”

“This is a very good partnership, especially on the workshopping, training, and development space in rare and critical minerals. We must get involved in such a partnership, especially since the NUM has not been exposed to that level of training and development. Our members will understand what their rights mean and, therefore, we will be better prepared to defend them and to correctly characterise these conditions of service so that they are not exploited by a lack of knowledge. We are very grateful for this partnership."

Speaking on behalf of CNV Internationaal, Imron Sahetapy said:

“We are looking very much forward to this collaboration together with the NUM. We will fight for labour rights in the mines, especially where critical minerals are mined.”

From agreement to action

As part of the cooperation, CNV Internationaal and NUM organised a workshop in Kuruman with regional NUM leadership, trade union leaders and workers from the mines. The workshop introduced the Fair Work Monitor and created space to identify the issues that matter most to workers in South Africa’s mining sector.

Participants discussed how the Fair Work Monitor can support trade unions and workers, what challenges workers currently experience, and which topics are specific to mining in South Africa. They also highlighted concerns about retrenchments of permanent employees and the growing use of migrant and contract workers in the manganese sector.

The workshop resulted in concrete next steps. The Fair Work Monitor will be updated with themes raised by workers, a roll out group has been initiated, and sites and provisional timelines have been identified.

Looking ahead

The cooperation will focus on human rights due diligence training, digital monitoring of mining companies’ compliance with labour rights standards, policy advocacy on critical energy transition minerals, and joint resource mobilisation for future programmes.

From 24 to 25 September 2026, CNV Internationaal and NUM will conduct a Training of Trainers on Human Rights and Environmental Due Diligence for trade union leaders at the Elijah Barayi Memorial Training Centre. This training is an important step in equipping trade unions to better understand, monitor and defend workers’ rights in critical mineral value chains.