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Massive layoffs in plants

The representatives of the labor unions from within Arcelor Mittal's metallurgical plants, backed by the European Metalworkers' Federation (EMF), have organized yesterday a protest in front of Arcelor Mittal's headquarters in Brussels.

Mircea Scantei, the president of the Metarom Federation of Labor Unions within Metallurgy (FSS Metarom), has stated that the Federation has taken part in the protest with a 30-man delegation, Agerpres informs.

Scantei has added that a dramatic situation is registered within all of the companies owned by Arcelor Mittal in Europe. Thus, the labor unions that are members of the European Committee for Process Equipment and Plant Manufacturers are planning wide-ranging protest movements.

The production has been stopped within the Hunedoara-based Arcelor Mittal metallurgical plant starting on Monday night. The measure was taken for maintenance works needed to put the Electric Steelworks' equipment in line with the environment and sound pollution standards.

According to the leader of the labor union, Laminorul Braila has sent 400 employees in technical leave with 75 per cent of their wages set to be paid until February 15. In Tubinox Bucharest 120 employees are in the same situation because the employer cannot recapitalize the production because of unreturned VAT from 2007 and 2008. Altur Slatina has fired 132 employees, forecasting the laying off of another 150. Laminorul Focsani is about to definitively close down because it is unable to buy raw materials. At the same time, electrode plants Electrocarbon Slatina and Elsider Titu have reduced their activity close to zero because the steel works that are still active in Romania are importing their electrodes. 700 people are affected by these developments, 79 set to be fired in Slatina next week.

Lamdro Drobeta Turnu-Severin has bleak prospects given its lack of activity, while Atlas Galati, a company that offers transportation services for that plant, has fired 300 employees. The metallurgical frames and repair works plant located in Galati is also affected by the drop registered in the plant's activity, firing 270 people and shutting down its activity until April 15.

The thousands of people employed by these plants' mineral processing subsidiaries find themselves in similar situations, losing or being about to lose their jobs.

On the other hand, the Russian investors in TMK will shut down the plant in Resita and forecast that they will feed raw materials from the East (Russia, Ukraine etc.) to their rolling mill plant in Slatina, the president of FSS Metarom stated yesterday. Likewise, the plants owned by Argentine's Tenaris consortium in Calarasi and Zalau have covered approximately 25 per cent of their production in Q1 of this year. In this situation, their employees are included in educational programs, in other related activities or are sent in technical leave with 75 per cent of their wages paid.

 

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