South African labour union to strike at ArcelorMittal over job cuts

Nov 13 (Reuters) – South Africa’s metal workers’ union said it will go on strike at ArcelorMittal South Africa Ltd on Thursday to protest job cuts that have impacted 107 workers.

The National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA) said in a statement it would picket the company’s Vanderbijlpark head office, south of Johannesburg, on Thursday.

“NUMSA has issued a strike notice to the company and it begins on Thursday the 14th of November,” it said.

The union said its members “have been provoked into striking” following the conclusion of a job cutting process.

ArcelorMittal was not immediately available for comment.

Africa’s biggest steel producer, majority-owned by Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal SA, was rocked by a two-week wage strike in May 2022, which compounded the impact of infrastructure problems and weak steel demand on the company’s income.

ArcelorMittal South Africa reported a loss of 1.11 billion rand ($61.63 million) in the six months to June 30, which widened from another loss of 448 million rand in the same period last year, amid difficult trading conditions in local and regional markets.

The steelmaker said in July it decided against shutting its steel plant in the KwaZulu-Natal province, opting to explore a plan to make it viable. ArcelorMittal had announced plans to close the plant in November 2023.

($1 = 18.0102 rand) (Reporting by Nelson Banya Editing by Alexandra Hudson)

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