Court ruling reinstates retrenched workers at ArcelorMittal South Africa

The retrenchments will affect over 3500 direct jobs and 100,000 indirect jobs along the value chain. AMSA attributes the retrenchments to high energy costs, cheap imports, and logistics challenges on transportation.

The long steel making company issued a retrenchment notice for workers at its operations in Newcastle and Vereeniging in January this year but before consultations were concluded the AMSA retrenched workers on October 21. This prompted the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA), which is the majority union at the company, to apply for an urgent interdict at the Labour Court to protect the interests of the workers.

The Labour Court order, issued on 27 October, ruled in favour of NUMSA, an affiliate of IndustriALL Global Union, stating that AMSA must follow a fair process by engaging with the union in negotiations over the retrenchments, and to start fair consultations within 10 days. The court said all dismissed workers must be reinstated and paid for the period they were retrenched. Further, ArcelorMittal is not allowed to dismiss any workers at its Newcastle and Vereeniging operations based on the January Section 189 notice which informed workers of the employer's intention to retrench. The court ruled that AMSA must issue a new notice.

On the retrenchments, NUMSA said it wants "meaningful joint-consensus seeking consultations" on the closure of the operations.

"This latest victory is another example of NUMSA consistently fighting for workers and their families and provides an opportunity to possibly look at alternatives to retrenchment,"

said Irvin Jim, NUMSA general secretary.

NUMSA argued that it is dishonest for AMSA to be receiving financial bailouts from the state-owned Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) while retrenching workers at the same time. NUMSA has also picketed at the IDC offices in Johannesburg in February demanding urgent action to stop the retrenchments.

Paule France Ndessomin, IndustriALL regional secretary for Sub Saharan Africa said:

"AMSA must always consult with the union and negotiate in good faith. It is unfair on workers to be dismissed when negotiations are still taking place."

South Africa is the continent's largest steel producer, accounting for over 10 per cent of continental steel production.