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6 May, 2026On 5 May, more than 150 workers and trade unionists from across the world gathered outside ArcelorMittal's annual general meeting (AGM) in Luxembourg. The protest focused on urgent concerns including ArcelorMittal workers safety social dialogue. Standing side by side in a powerful joint action between IndustriALL Global Union and industriAll European Trade Union, they delivered a clear message. Enough is enough.
Workers travelled from across Europe, Brazil and Mexico to make their voices heard. At the heart of their demands was ArcelorMittal workers safety social dialogue, emphasising the need for real commitment and action. They demanded investment in people and the planet and respect for workers’ rights. They also called for genuine social dialogue. Their lives, their dignity and their futures, they said, must come before profit.
The demonstration comes against a backdrop of deepening crisis. Over 300 workers have died at ArcelorMittal in the past decade. Thousands of jobs are being cut without consultation, climate commitments are being abandoned and trade unions are being systematically silenced. At the same time, the company has returned billions to shareholders. Yet, investment in safety, jobs and a just transition has fallen critically short.
The human cost is not abstract. It’s felt in every plant, on every shift, by every worker who clocks in. Sadly, they do not know if they will return home safely.
A pattern of failure, not isolated incidents
Flavio Cordeiro De Paiva, from IndustriALL affiliate CNM-CUT (Confederação Nacional dos Metalúrgicos da CUT), in Brazil described the daily reality inside ArcelorMittal’s plants:
“We are facing increasing fatigue from imposed schedules, wage stagnation, unsafe equipment conditions and mounting pressure. In just twelve months at my plant in João Monlevade, we have recorded twenty accidents and numerous near misses involving cranes, molten steel and heavy loads. Weakened social dialogue must be restored. We call for negotiation, respect and dignity. Our message is clear: workers’ lives must take priority over financial targets.”
In Mexico, the consequences of deferred investment have already proved fatal. In June 2025, a preventable boiler explosion at ArcelorMittal’s power plant in Lázaro Cárdenas – the result of years of deferred maintenance – killed a supervisor and seriously injured a worker. The company had repeatedly patched boiler leaks rather than addressing underlying equipment failures. As a result, production was halted for over six months.
Francisco Galiana Mejia of Mineros de México, an IndustriALL affiliate, told those gathered outside the AGM:
“In 2025 a supervisor was killed after a boiler exploded. This is due to the company’s failure to invest in the plant. Production was then stopped for seven months and this caused so much hardship for our families, because incomes were cut in half. But thanks to leadership and global solidarity, people were able to push through. If we remain united, we will be victorious in the end.”
The pattern extends far beyond the Americas. In Liberia, when workers employed by ArcelorMittal’s security contractor, SEGAL, staged a peaceful protest in October 2025, sixteen of them were beaten and arrested on SEGAL’s orders. Workers who organize, who speak up, who demand what is rightfully theirs, are being met with repression.
In Europe, the company has repeatedly sidelined its European works council (EWC). It failed to consult it on major restructuring decisions in violation of both EU law and its own EWC agreement. The situation became so untenable that in March 2026 the EWC was forced to demand mediation. European trade unions describe the company’s approach as gaslighting, claiming to inform the EWC while not doing so at all. ArcelorMittal workers safety social dialogue.
Shareholders rewarded, workers sacrificed
A 2025 study by SteelWatch found that despite receiving over €3 billion in public subsidies for decarbonisation across Europe and beyond, ArcelorMittal “has not taken a single final investment decision on any of its five announced Direct Reduced Iron (DRI) projects in Europe and Canada.” SteelWatch accused the company of backtracking on its climate commitments and abdicating its role as an industry leader. Between 2021 and 2024, the company spent only US$800 million on decarbonisation. However, it returned US$12 billion to shareholders in dividends and buybacks during the same period.
The world’s steel cannot be made on promises. It is made by workers, workers who deserve safety, fair wages and a seat at the table.
“Yesterday’s action proved that solidarity knows no bounds! ArcelorMittal does not invest in decarbonization and new technologies. It puts profits over people and the planet. Instead of creating new jobs in Europe through decarbonization, they are planning to relocate one third of the European workforce.
It is unacceptable that ArcelorMittal receives 3.5 billion dollars in public subsidies worldwide. Meanwhile, their workers are suffering and dying in poorly maintained factories.
With the EU Steel and Metals Action Plan in place, there is a supportive policy framework, solid financial results and massive public support. As a result, ArcelorMittal has no justification for standing still on investment in decarbonization. Investing in decarbonization means investing in decent union jobs and skills. In addition, it secures the long term future of steel in Europe, and the company must now do its part.
Workers and the environment are paying the price of ArcelorMittals decisions and enough is enough,” said Judith Kirton-Darling industriAll Europe’s general secretary.
“ArcelorMittal signed a global health and safety agreement in 2008. Eighteen years later, workers are dying from preventable accidents and being beaten for peaceful protest, while 450 of our brothers and sisters in Ohio were forced to strike for over two months to get a fair contract. IndustriALL is calling on the company to account for the implementation of that agreement at every plant worldwide. We also call on the company to sit down with us and strengthen the existing agreement with binding targets, transparent fatality reporting and real consequences for non-compliance. The framework already exists, what is missing is the will to implement it,”
said Alex Ivanou, IndustriALL base metals director.