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11 December, 2025National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) members picketed outside the headquarters of the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) in Johannesburg on 9 December, demanding urgent intervention at two distressed steel producers: the SA Steel Mills (SASM) and ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA).
NUMSA, an IndustriALL Global Union affiliate, has over 80 per cent membership at SASM and majority status at AMSA, handed a memorandum to the state-owned development financier, the largest creditor in both cases. The union gave the IDC until 12 December to respond.
At SA Steel Mills, which entered business rescue in July 2024, workers have gone for months with irregular or no pay. The union says the process has been affected by delays and is not transparent. NUMSA prefers bidders who will provide protection to workers as per Section 197 of the Labour Relations Act. Further, NUMSA demands binding job creation schedules, priority re-hiring of existing staff and the creation of a joint labour–IDC monitoring forum.
“NUMSA will not stand by silently while workers are treated as an afterthought in a process that directly affects their lives, families and communities. Workers at SASM have been without proper income and security for long. The IDC as a key stakeholder and funder must intervene decisively and act in line with its developmental mandate,”
said Andrew Chirwa, NUMSA president.
A labour court recently ordered AMSA to reinstate over 3,500 affected workers with back pay, but the company is appealing the decision and has refused to pay salaries in the interim, leaving workers and their families without income over the festive season. The union argues that there is mismanagement at AMSA which despite receiving billions of rands in past state support, is refusing to pay workers.
“Workers are being punished by the AMSA management because the union took them to court. They are using workers to compel the state into giving them more money, yet they are giving workers nothing in return,”
said NUMSA in the petition.
The union’s demands to the IDC on AMSA include immediate financial relief for retrenched workers and nationalisation of the company and its return to full state ownership. Further, the union will support buyers that consider labour demands and an independent audit of assets and measures to halt any further stripping at plants as observed by NUMSA shop stewards.
Patrick Correa, IndustriALL director of mechanical engineering and base metals said:
“We support NUMSA demands for labour protections and initiatives to save jobs in South Africa’s steel industries and urge the IDC to respond timely to the union petition.”
South Africa’s primary steel industry has lost thousands of direct jobs amid high electricity costs, rail and port logistical bottlenecks, and cheap imports while hundreds of thousands of jobs are at risk along the value chain.
Photos: NUMSA