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UASA Chief Operations Officer, Mr Shadrack Motloung, will be attending the Global Union’s Diamond Network Meeting on 6 and 7 November at the Royal Plaza Hotel in New Delhi, India. Delegates from various countries will be in attendance.

The Global Diamond Network was launched in Windhoek, Namibia, in 2017. This year’s meeting will centre on the resolution the network made a year ago in Johannesburg to improve the working conditions of diamond supply chain employees.

The supply chain from “mine to finger” includes exploration and evaluation, mining and processing, grading and valuation, rough diamond sales, cutting, polishing and trading, and jewellery manufacturing and sales.

Seven of the world’s top 10 diamond producing countries are in Sub-Saharan Africa and account for 99% of the world’s diamond production; yet the majority of the workers in the industry have little to show for their efforts. In Botswana and Namibia legislation favours employers, while unions are fighting unfair dismissals and retrenchments.

In Zimbabwe workers earn paltry wages that sometimes consist of a few grocery items like cooking oil, maize meal, sugar and salt. At the Marangwe diamond fields in Zimbabwe, that are guarded by armed soldiers, unions have no access to workers.

UASA is affiliated with global union IndustriALL which affords us the opportunity to be heard on an international level with other trade unions across the globe. It allows for the exchange of knowledge and skills, while having the backing of a global union makes it easier to deal with international companies in terms of labour conversations.

UASA collaborated with IndustriALL in Lesotho to help grow and expand membership of Lesotho trade unions by offering training to shop stewards.

Issued by UASA