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Metarom: 10pc of iron and steel workers facing redundancies

Multinational business concerns are capitalising on the announced economic crisis to lay off workers, Chairman of the Metarom Trade Union Federation of Steel Workers Mircea Scantei told Agerpres.

'Out of nearly 32,000 workers in our industrial branch, that is iron and steel and ferrous metallurgy, 10 percent are facing redundancies in the period immediately ahead and the others will witness a serious erosion in their wage income and job security,' Scantei argued.

Scantei said that the Braila laminated steel works of has placed 400 workers on short-time working paying them 75 percent of their wages, throughout February 15. Tubinox Bucharest furloughed 120 workers on 80-percent pay because the employers cannot afford to replenish capital for production as it has not been refunded its 2007 and 2008 VAT dues. Altur Slatina has laid off 132 workers and has planned to lay off 150 more. The laminated steel works of Focsani is about to be closed down indefinitely because, although it has received business orders, it cannot secure the raw materials needed, and 350 workers are affected.

The Electrocarbon Slatina and Elsider Titu electrode factory have reduced production to almost zero because the steel works still operational in Romania are securing the electrodes they need from abroad. That is why 700 workers are affected and 79 workers of Slatina will be made redundant in the next week.

Lamdro Drobeta Turnu Severin has no future prospects and Atlas of Galati, the transport services provider for the Galati works, laid off 300 workers. The steel works construction and repairing enterprise affected by the contraction of the steel works business has laid off 270 workers and halted production through April 15.

In a similar situation to the ferrous and non-ferrous metal workers are thousands of employees working with the companies that provide services to the works whose jobs have been lost or are about to be lost.

'All this time, the storage houses of iron and steel products are teeming with products from Turkey and Ukraine traded for dumping prices. That is why we believe the iron and steel workers deserve to be given at least the same great attention as the one attached to the public employees, because the pay to the public employees hinge to a great extent on the activity of the workers from primary production sectors that fuel the Budget,' said Scantei.

The Coordination Council of the Metarom metalworkers' trade union federation has mandated its executive board to initiate an emergency meeting with the government to find out actual solutions entailing Government business orders and other protectionist measures that will keep this fundamental industrial branch alive.

 

Sursa: http://www.rompress.ro

Tags: workers steel works metarom