UNIONS UNITE IN MAJOR STRUGGLE WITH GLOBAL GIANT ARCELORMITTAL
APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY
A major dispute is developing in the industrial city of Krtviy Rih in south east Ukraine. Trade unions form both the Confederation of Free Trade Unions of Ukraine (KVPU) and also the Federation of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) have united their demands and held a joint conference to launch the campaign.
Their dispute is with the steel giant Acelormittal, part of the Mittal Steel Company which is a world wide corporation.The workers at Kryviy Riv are calling for international solidarity in their struggle. International support is important and has assisted the Ukrainian unions against the mining company, EVRAZ ,and more recently to defeat the trial of 94 miners for protesting. Ukraine Solidarity Committee will be publicising the campaign and calls for assistance. We publish below a report by the KVPU on the conference to launch the campaign.
REPORT FROM KVPU
On March 27, the Conference of the labor collective of the PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih” that was announced at a rally organized by nine trade-union organizations on 14 March was held in Kryviy Rih. At the Conference, the representatives of the labor collective of the PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih” made requirements to the Chairman and CEO of steel group “ArcelorMittaland” Lakshmi Mittal and to the CEO of PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih” Paramjit Kahlon.
Employees organized this Conference, despite the efforts of the administration of the enterprise to disrupt its conduct. At the same time, the administration organized an alternative conference in the office of the enterprise. Moreover, before the Conference of labor collective delegates faced with the public disinformation campaign and pressure.
At the Conference, all primary trade unions at the PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih” have united to protect their members’ social and labor rights. They demand to raise wages, to provide safe working conditions, to stop reducing personnel and persecuting trade unionists.
The trade unions hoped for a dialogue with the administration, but management didn’t want to talk about workers’ problems. Taking this into account, the labor collective conference voted for oustering from offices the Director of the Personnel Department Elena Pilipenko and her deputy Iryna Futruk.
Delegates of the conference approved the composition of the joint representative body of trade union organizations at the enterprise, which will represent employees in a collective labor dispute with the employer. It was also decided to begin preparations for a strike if the management of the ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih rejects the demands of the workers and conciliation procedures doesn’t bring any results.
The Chairman of the Independent Trade Union of Miners of Ukraine (NPGU) Mykhailo Volynets claimed during his speech at the Conference: “It’s a significant situation when employer’s action and attitude has united almost a dozen different trade unions for defending the employees’ rights”.
Demands of the labor collective of PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih”:
- To raise the average monthly salary of employees to 1000 EUR from 01.04.2018.
- To ensure safe working conditions for all workers.
– To conduct a comprehensive examination of all buildings, structures, equipment and mechanisms of the enterprise by the state organization in accordance with the approved schedule.
– To develop a comprehensive plan of measures for the examination of all floors, roofs, and construction of the PJSC “ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih”.
– To develop measures for elimination of standards violation with specific deadlines.
- To carry out an expert examination of all buildings and constructions of the converter shop and to give a report on the results of the inspection to the labor collective and the trade union organizations.
– To make an overhaul of the roof overlapping of the unit No. 2 of the converter shop until 01.04.2018.
- Stop the policy of reducing job places and outsourcing the workers.
- To ensure the implementation the state construction in the ablution placement
- To ceasethe antisocial and anti-union policies of the administration.
– To dismiss those who are responsible for conduction of such policies.
This article was first posted at:-
Unions Unite in Major Struggle with Global Giant AcellorMittal
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MAJOR VICTORY FOR THE 94 UKRAINIAN MINERS FACING COURT FOR PROTESTING