Mittal’s diktat - Employees will again pay the price
"The definitive closure by ArcelorMittal of its blast furnaces in Liège will be a social and economic catastrophe for the whole region, a region which is historically one of the cradles of the European steel industry", stated Bart Samyn, Deputy General Secretary of the European Metalworkers’ Federation (EMF). "The temporary shutdown of production facilities announced elsewhere in Europe are also extremely worrying. It’s the very survival of the top European steel producer’s production sites and employment at these sites that are at stake" he added.
ArcelorMittal wants us to believe that these announcements are justified by the fall in demand and the uncertain economic situation. Yet there is no justification for its analysis at this stage. On the contrary, it is clear that reducing production is first and foremost a result of the the policy of maintaining high prices in order to continue to reap every higher profits. Opting for the mothballing of production equipments for the sole purpose of maintaining prices at the risk of jeopardizing plant equipment and losing skilled workers is totally unacceptable and irresponsible – especially since this policy pursued by ArcelorMittal over the last few years has gradually led to the loss of market share in Europe.
For many years, the trade union members of the ArcelorMittal Social Dialogue Group have tirelessly repeated that the company’s future lay in innovation, R&D to develop the steels products of tomorrow and energy-efficient technologies (e.g. such as the ULCOS Project of capture of the CO² produced by the blast furnaces, which would also lead to considerable productivity gains). A strategy for the future also depends upon the replacement and transfer of the know-how which is essential for the running of complex industrial plant equipment.
Sad to say, nothing has been done despite the formal commitment made by Mr. Mittal to the European trade unions when he took over Arcelor in 2006.
He has not kept any of his promises. The budget for R&D is extremely low and remains far beneath that of ArcelorMittal’s competitors, the promised investments have not been made and have been limited to maintaining plant equipment. ArcelorMittal’s involvement in forward-looking European projects like ULCOS is doubtful. The delays regarding the replacement of jobs and competences put the actual running of plant equipment at risk.
Mr. Mittal’s European strategy can currently be summarised as siphoning off the profits made by the European sites – the company’s main source of profit – to finance acquisitions in mines and plants outside of Europe.
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PRESS 24/2011
We cannot allow Mr. Mittal’s decisions to endanger the viability of the European sites.
Faced with the announcement of the shutting down of the hot rolled steel mills in Liège and temporarily suspend production at other plants, the EMF demands that management take the opinion of the employees’ representatives at national and European level and fully respects their rights to information and consultation. “There are alternative solutions and they must be thoroughly explored with the employee representation bodies at national and European level. The company’s strategy must also be discussed with the Social Dialogue Group. The steel industry is at the very heart of an integrated and independent European industrial policy. We are not going to let Mr. Mittal dismantle a major part of this", declared Bart Samyn.
The European trade unions within ArcelorMittal will meet in Brussels on 24th October to decide on future strategy.
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The EMF is the representative body defending the interests of workers in the European metal industry. The EMF has a mandate for the external representation and coordination of the metalworkers' unions and a mandate to engage in bargaining at European level.
For further information please contact:
Ulrich Eckelmann, EMF General Secretary
Bart Samyn, EMF Deputy General Secretary
Isabelle Barthès, Senior Policy Adviser
