This is not merely a tragedy. It is a preventable massacre of workers, driven by greed, exploitation, and total disregard for human life and dignity.

ITUC-Africa stands in unwavering solidarity with the families who have lost their loved ones in this horrific disaster. We also stand with the mining communities of Rubaya, who are forced to live and work in conditions of extreme danger. Our solidarity stands with our trade union comrades in the Democratic Republic of Congo, who struggle daily to defend workers’ rights and safety, and with all workers in the extractive industries across Africa who continue to face similar forms of exploitation.

We condemn, in the strongest possible terms:
• Decades of poor mining practices and the deliberate neglect of safety standards created the conditions for this disaster
• The brutal exploitation of artisanal miners compelled them to work in hand-dug tunnels without basic safety protections or oversight
• The profiteering from coltan extraction while workers labour in deadly conditions
• Armed groups that extort and control mining operations while workers die underground
• International supply chains that continue to benefit from minerals extracted at the cost of African lives

This disaster exposes the brutal reality of resource extraction in Africa: our continent’s wealth is extracted while our workers die in conditions that would be unthinkable elsewhere. The global economy cannot continue to be built on the graves of African workers.

We demand:
• An immediate, independent investigation into the collapse and full accountability for all those responsible
• Emergency assistance and comprehensive compensation for the victims’ families
• The urgent enforcement of safety standards and regular inspections at all mining sites
• A complete end to armed group control of mining operations
• Full recognition and protection of miners’ rights to organize and bargain collectively
• Fair wages and decent working conditions for all miners
• Concrete action by international electronics and technology companies to ensure their supply chains are free from exploitation, violence, and unsafe labour

Workers’ Lives Are Not Expendable. Every worker has the right to return home safely at the end of the working day. Every miner has the right to conditions that protect their life and health.

ITUC-Africa calls on the Government of the DRC, the African Union, international organisations, and global supply-chain actors to take immediate action to prevent such tragedies and to ensure that mining in Africa respects workers’ rights and lives.

In solidarity,

Signed in Lomé, Togo, on 6 February 2026

Akhator Joel ODIGIE
General Secretary
ITUC-Africa