August 30, 2008

French ArcelorMittal workers smash up office

AFP reported that French workers in an ArcelorMittal steel plant smashed up their boss's office Friday and threw furniture and files out the window after management confirmed that hundreds of jobs would be cut.

The attack, which was witnessed by reporters and police who didn't intervene, came after about 60 workers tried to break down doors to get into a meeting at which management confirmed to union leaders that the 575 jobs would be lost.

After the meeting at the Gandrange plant in northeastern France, members of the CGT union, who had been refused entry, fought briefly with members of another union, the CFDT. There were no injuries. A group of CGT supporters then headed to the plant director's office to tear it apart, journalists at the site witnessed.

Mr Edouard Martin a CFDT representative said that he hoped Mr Nicolas Sarkozy president would keep the promises he made to the workers of Gandrange on February 4."

ArcelorMittal, after Mr Sarkozy urged its owner Mr LN Mittal to reconsider, agreed to freeze its restructuring plan until April in order to consider a counter proposal drafted by specialists selected by trade unions. But union sources said that an investment of EUR 20 million to EUR 30 million is necessary to maintain operations at the plant. Gandrange is facing a restructuring plan that would see the elimination of the 575 jobs from a workforce of 1,108 between now and 2009.