IndustriALL Global Union is pleased to welcome Matthew Wenban-Smith as new Managing Director of the Initiative for Responsible Mining Assurance (IRMA).
The appointment marks an important milestone in establishing IRMA as the first global certification programme in the mining sector which trade unions view as legitimate. The success of IRMA is a key priority for IndustriALL’s mining sectoral activities, as well as for social partners and companies who have worked together for six years to establish the multi-stakeholder dialogue charged with achieving responsible mining. IRMA stands to be the first international certification procedure to include proper worker participation and therefore potentially the first to award reliable certifications on mines with high social and environmental performance.
IndustriALL says that this stands in contrast to schemes such as that run by the Responsible Jewellery Council, which ‘certified’ Rio Tinto last July despite numerous concerns about the company’s track record.
See http://www.industriall-union.org/industriall-heralds-new-irma-head?utm_source=Newsletters+in+english&utm_campaign=ca298043e9-Headlines_IndustriALL_37&utm_medium=email.