Thousands of workers are set to lose their jobs as steel plants across Europe are closing since they cannot compete with cheap China imports. As steel industry representatives and government ministers met with the European Commission in Brussels on 15 February to discuss the effects of cheap Chinese steel on the European market, workers were raising their voices on the streets.
In a march organized by steel association EUROFER, thousands of steel workers from the UK, France, Poland, Italy, Austria, Spain, Germany and the Czech Republic were joined by steel company bosses calling on the European Commission put a to stop to the influx of Chinese steel, carrying placards saying Stop China dumping in a range of different languages.
Jyrki Raina, IndustriALL Global Union general secretary, said:
"There is a crisis in the steel industry, fuelled by a market inundated with cheap Chinese steel. And our members are paying a high price for this by risking their jobs. We join their call for institutional action to save the European steel industry."