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Mining giant Rio Tinto tackled over safety and environment claims

Campaigners converge on London to highlight land-grabbing and worker deaths

Campaigners from around the world united in London yesterday in the fight against mining multinational Rio Tinto putting workers’ lives at risk and wrecking the environment.

A Madagascan mother-of-four jailed after confronting the company over the alleged destruction of her community was among them.

Perle Zafinandro was arrested at a protest against land-grabbing and environmental destruction last March and imprisoned for 58 days.

But she still flew into London to join dozens of other trade unionists and campaigners to protest at Rio Tinto’s annual general meeting at Westminster’s Queen Elizabeth conference centre.

Ms Zafinandro said the company’s promise to develop Madagascar are completely outweighed “enormous losses affecting the majority of the population.

“Many people in the Anosy region are dependent on farming and fishing to feed themselves,” she said.

“Their very existence is threatened through loss of access to forests, social upheaval and environmental degradation caused by the mining.”

A new report by global union IndustriALL has said that 40 workers died last year, while working on sites fully or partially owned by Rio Tinto. It also said that over 20,000 workers were exposed to noise levels above safety levels, putting their hearing at risk.

Two uranium spills were also among environmental disasters at Rio Tinto sites across the world that collectively earned bosses profits of $3.7 billion (£2.20bn) last year.

IndustriALL assistant general secretary Kemal Özkan said: “Rio Tinto’s blind pursuit of profit at any cost has caused disputes with numerous unions as well as environmental, community and indigenous groups.”

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