Raw materials policy must be a people’s strategy

Europe’s efforts to secure critical raw materials for the green and digital transitions are accelerating. However, the workforce underpinning this sector is often overlooked. Across the EU, extractive industries employ around 335,000 workers, representing approximately 0.26% of the EU workforce, concentrated mainly in rural and traditional industrial regions.

These jobs are essential for regional cohesion and industrial resilience. A sustainable raw materials strategy must therefore also be a strategy for quality employment, fair development, and territorial balance.

Rising demand requires investment in skills

The demand for critical raw materials is expected to grow significantly in the coming decades. According to projections from the European Training Foundation, demand could increase six-fold by 2030 and seven-fold by 2050, with some materials such as lithium experiencing even faster growth.

This transformation will require a workforce equipped with advanced technical skills, digital capabilities, and strong environmental expertise as extraction and processing technologies evolve.

"Workers must be fully involved in shaping skills policies. Training, upskilling and reskilling must be accessible, forward-looking and jointly developed by social partners to ensure that the transition creates opportunities rather than barriers for workers" said Judith-Kirton Darling

Social dialogue as a foundation for trust and acceptance

Strong social dialogue is essential to ensure safe, sustainable and socially accepted extractive industries.

"At European level, industriAll Europe and employers are already engaged in structured dialogue initiatives addressing health and safety, sustainability, critical raw materials policy, and the just transition. These frameworks demonstrate the importance of cooperation between unions, employers and institutions" Stressed Judith Kirton- Darling

National best practices that illustrate how social dialogue delivers concrete results:

  • In Spain, structured cooperation between unions, employers and authorities has strengthened mining safety and regional strategies linking sustainability with industrial policy.
  •  In France, public debate mechanisms ensure early consultation with communities and workers before major extractive projects are approved, improving transparency and trust.
  • In Belgium, collective bargaining and European Works Councils continue to deliver improvements in working time, equality, and cross-border coordination.
  • In Sweden, strong autonomous social partners support sectoral agreements on safety, skills and working conditions.
  •  In Poland, social dialogue has played a crucial role in managing industrial restructuring processes, particularly in coal regions, helping to shape fair transition pathways.

These examples demonstrate that inclusive dialogue is not an obstacle to investment, but a condition for long-term success and social acceptance.

Priorities for a socially responsible strategy

IndustriAll Europe outlined four key priorities for the future:

  1. Europe must protect and strengthen quality employment by ensuring safe working conditions, fair wages and strong labour standards across the sector.
  2. Investment in skills and training must be significantly increased, with social partners fully involved in shaping training systems.
  3. Social dialogue must be embedded early in all policy and project development processes, including permitting and planning phases.
  4. A just transition approach must guarantee targeted support for regions affected by industrial change, ensuring investment, diversification and social protection.

Putting people at the centre of Europe’s industrial future

Europe cannot afford to repeat past mistakes of outsourcing production or neglecting social impacts. A resilient raw materials strategy must be built on domestic capacity and, crucially, domestic trust.

" Europe’s competitiveness, will depend not only on the minerals extracted from the ground, but on the workers, skills and communities that make extraction possible. IndustriAll Europe is committed to working with all stakeholders to ensure that Europe’s raw materials future is sustainable, resilient and socially just." concluded Judith Kirton-Darling