+European Union passing legislation to deal with conflict minerals and improve the conditions of workers in affected countries
The sourcing of metals and minerals for the purpose of manufacturing electronics is a serious issue very few people are even aware of, nevermind care about. Typically the way to ensure that phones and other electronics are more ethically sourced is to seek "conflict-free minerals" where workers are already benefiting from support from either NGOs or local authorities to get a fair pay for the work that they do.
As encouraging as this is, it doesn't change the fact that this won't reduce the number of mines where people are exploited or paid a pittance for gruelling and life threatening work to ensure we all enjoy our phones and laptops. As such I am pleased to see the EU taking this issue seriously and discuss legislation to tackle this head on.
[This is the first in what I hope to be many posts highlighting the good work that the +European Union and +European Parliament do. Don't expect to see this initiative in the front page of your local newspaper though]Embedded Link
Conflict Minerals – Trilogue outcomes: extracts from the press conference by Bernd LANGE (S&D, DE), Iuliu WINKLER (EPP, RO), Cecilia MALMSTRÖM and Lilianne PLOUMEN
Event Date 16/06/2016. © European Union 2016.
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