7 October, 2015On 1-2 October, a meeting of the ArcelorMittal trade unions from Kazakhstan and Ukraine took place in Temirtau, Kazakhstan. Jean Luc Ruffin, the ArcelorMittal European Works Council Secretary, attended the meeting. Among other issues the unions spoke about their intention to become part of the ArcelorMittal European Works Council.
The representatives of the Kazprofmetall Mining and Metallurgical Industry Union and the Metallurgical and Mining Industry Workers Union of Ukraine, both affiliates of IndustriALL, discussed the structure and activities of the trade unions at the ArcelorMittal enterprises in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, and the development of social dialogue between the workers and the employer.
Nataliya Marinyuk, the local union first deputy chairperson at the ArcelorMitttal Kryvyi Rih enterprise located in Ukraine said that after the TNC had come to the enterprise, the headcount decreased from 54.1 thousand employees in 2006 to 27.9 thousand employees in 2015.
In July, the management of ArcelorMittal Temirtau, the major mining and metallurgical company in Kazakhstan that employs around 40 thousand people, announced its plan to decrease the salary of all employees by 25 percent under the pretext of the difficult financial situation due to a decrease in the production demand. Kazprofmetall chair Asylber Nuralin and Jean Luc Ruffin demanded that the company keep the same level of its employees’ purchasing power.
The ArcelorMittal trade unions from Kazakhstan and Ukraine decided to send a request to Mr.Lakshmi Mittal, the CEO of ArcelorMittal, to let their representatives become part of the ArcelorMittal European Works Council at least as observers. Jean Luc Ruffin promised to provide the unions with the Charter and other statutory documents related to the ArcelorMittal EWC activity. IndustriALL affiliates also proposed to sign a Regional Framework Agreement between the respective unions from Kazakhstan and Ukraine and the management of ArcelorMittal.