Building a Wider
Horizon With Labour
At the end of January, IndustriALL Global Union and the Indian National Mineworkers Federation (INMWF) visited Chattarpur, in Madhya Pradesh, India, where Rio Tinto is waiting for approval to develop a 300-metre-deep open-pit diamond mine. According to Rio Tinto, once developed, the Bunder mine would place Madhya Pradesh in the top ten diamond producing regions of the world. During the visit to Chattarpur, villagers from neighbouring communities expressed strong opposition to the development of the Bunder project and discontent with Rio Tinto, echoing the result of a public hearing organized by authorities a year ago. According to press reports on the hearing, only seven villagers supported the project while 250 opposed it.
