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ArcelorMittal has also proposed that salaries and benefits be reduced by 20% as an alternative to retrenchments.
Members of the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) are staging a picket at the Industrial Development Corporation (IDC) offices in Sandton, Johannesburg, over planned retrenchments at ArcelorMittal South Africa (AMSA).
AMSA, in which the state-owned IDC is a minority shareholder, plans to shut down its long steel business, a move that could affect 3 500 jobs. NUMSA is calling on the government, through the IDC, to intervene and prevent the retrenchments.
While AMSA has extended the deadline for finalizing Section 189 consultations and the wind-down process by a month, the risk of job losses remains. The company postponed the closure to allow further discussions with the government on alternatives to shutting down operations.
Analysts estimate that if the closure goes ahead, up to 100 000 jobs could be lost along the value chain. Workers from SA Steel Mills have also joined the picket, with NUMSA criticizing attempts to prolong the business rescue process at the steel company.
PODCAST| NUMSA pickets at ICD:
