A strike at Russian aluminium firm UC Rusal’s Guinea operation Compagnie des Bauxites de Dian-Dian (COBAD) concluded last week after a week and labor’s concessions on salary and working conditions.
The COBAD strike, which commenced on 26 May, sought a bump in pay as well as certain improvements to the mine for the benefit of the miners who work there.
COBAD union leader Yamoussa Bangoura told Reuters of the improvements his union won from management in subsequent news coverage.
“We obtained a 5% increase on our base salary, housing allowance and guarantees for medical treatment.”
For its part, Rusal did not offer a comment on the situation. At the time the strike commenced, Rusal’s only comment on the situation is that the strike was illegal.
The COBAD mine is one of two mines operated by Rusal in Guinea, which is the second-most-prolific bauxite-producing country in the world. The COBAD mine churned out 3.59 million metric tons of bauxite ore in 2021, besting Rusal’s other mine, Compagnie des Bauxites de Kindia, which churned out 2.65 million metric tons of bauxite ore last year.
This was the second stoppage at Rusal’s mines so far this year. In March, export was halted for a month due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the resulting supply chain difficulties.
All in, Guinea produced 83 million metric tons of bauxite ore last year. It is one of the prime suppliers of the aluminium precursor to the People’s Republic of China.