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6 February, 2024Following a crisis meeting with GFG Alliance / Liberty Steel trade unions from across the globe, industriAll Europe and IndustriALL Global Union – both representing millions of workers in mining, energy and manufacturing industries in Europe and worldwide – are calling for an end to Mr Gupta’s irresponsible management which is putting Europe’s strategic steel production at risk.
The GFG Alliance / Liberty Steel’s European plants are experiencing their worst crisis:
- With several blast furnaces idled, production capacity is at a dramatically low level, down to one per cent in some plants.
- More than 20,000 steelworkers in Czechia, Poland, Romania, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy and Hungary are either at home with no work or nervously waiting to find out what their future hold.
- The situation in Czechia is catastrophic: in addition to the 6,000 workers in Ostrava waiting to hear if and when production will resume, 30,000 indirect jobs and 117 subcontractors are at risk. Last week, the Czech Minister of Industry and Trade gave formal notice to Mr Gupta, threatening legal action.
- Millions of euros are now needed to repair damage to European steel facilities, restart production and invest in green steel.
Despite trade unions’ warning to national and European public authorities about Mr Gupta’s mismanagement, and after repeated unsuccessful requests for a meeting between Mr Gupta and a global trade union delegation, GFG Alliance / Liberty Steel trade unions are going on the offensive to urge:
- Mr Gupta to provide full transparency, including on his consolidated finances.
- The European Commission to set up a crisis task force to defend steel production in Europe.
- National governments to attach social conditionalities and a commitment to industrial plans when granting public funding to Mr Gupta.
Christina Olivier, assistant general secretary at IndustriALL Global Union, says:
“The situation at GFG Alliance / Liberty Steel is not just a crisis; it’s a clarion call for urgent, collective action. We demand immediate, comprehensive accountability from management to avert a catastrophe that threatens thousands of jobs and the very fabric of our industrial future. The time for solidarity is now; we must unite globally to defend our workers and the steel industry’s survival."
Judith Kirton-Darling, acting joint general secretary of industriAll Europe, says:
“Workers in GFG sites have reached breaking point. Our steel industry is strategic – vital for climate action and our security. It should not be a toy for irresponsible owners – our industrial future is too important. It is a difficult time currently for steelworkers across Europe, but in the GFG sites workers are the victims of corporate mismanagement, and the lack of investment and respect.”