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Rio Tinto, uranium miners, and nuclear colonialism

situation isn’t all rosy for the multinational, which has long faced allegations of widespread environmental destruction and labor and human rights abuses in Africa, Asia and even the U.S.

Foreign control of metals and other natural resources in African and other developing countries is increasingly seen as a new form of colonialism, wherein locals work for relatively low wages and often in grueling, repressive conditions for companies that take most of the profit from the resources and labor out of the country.

Namibian Uranium Miners vs. Rio Tinto, IN THESE TIMES, BY KARI LYDERSEN, OCT 3, 2011  Namibian union uranium miners on strike against international mining giant Rio Tinto alleged in late September that a week into the strike, the company was violating mutually agreed upon conditions of the strike by hiring nonunion workers at its Rossing uranium mine.
Rio Tinto says it is not hiring nonunion workers and is demanding written proof from the Namibian Miners Union.

The newspaper Informante reported:

Electricians, diesel mechanics, operators, general workers, and cleaners were shoulder-to-shoulder at the mine’s entrance, demanding their issues surrounding alleged unfair bonus practices be met. In the wake of last Friday [Sept. 23]’s rejection of the mediated agreement for an additional bonus pay-out, workers indicated to Informanté on Monday that they were willing to accept an immediate after-tax payout across the board to all striking workers of N$20,000 [Namibian dollars]. “Many of us work at the mine since the seventies. We want to work, but we strike as a result of the unfair treatment we received with the production bonus pay-outs,” the newspaper was told.

It wouldn’t seem like a significant imposition for a company with $14 billion in profits last year. And Rio Tinto is expecting booming profits worldwide as demand for copper and other commodities are expected to increase greatly in coming years – global copper demand alone is expected to grow 40 percent by 2020, according to the company…..

But the situation isn’t all rosy for the multinational, which has long faced allegations of widespread environmental destruction and labor and human rights abuses in Africa, Asia and even the U.S.  While mining companies say Chinese demand for building and manufacturing products will continue to drive a mining boom, skeptics say a “double-dip recession” in Europe and the U.S. will suppress demand including in China just as the new mining projects are ramping up.

Meanwhile in Mongolia, Mozambique, Guinea and possibly other countries, Rio Tinto profits are threatened by government moves to nationalize a larger share of natural resources. ……

October 4, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | business and costs, indigenous issues, Namibia, Uranium