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Trade union Solidarity today said it wants to limit the impact of retrenchments at ArcelorMittal’s Vereeniging Mills on its members. This comes after the country’s largest steel producer issued a retrenchment notice to trade unions. An estimated 600 jobs will be affected by the retrenchments.

According to Marius Croucamp, Head of Solidarity’s Metal and Engineering Industry, Solidarity already participated in consultation talks with the steel producer prior to receiving the official notice. “We’ll do everything in our power to keep the number of members affected by this process as low as possible,” Croucamp said. Solidarity has around 280 members who are employed at the mill.

This announcement comes shortly after Evraz Highveld Steel also embarked on a retrenchment process, and Kumba recently announced the closure of its Thabazimbi mine. “The steel industry is going through tough times and Solidarity will therefore do everything in its power to assist its members in this industry,” Croucamp said.

No further information is currently available on when the consultation phase of the retrenchment process will commence.

Issued by Solidarity