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News24 reports that dozens of Saldanha steel workers picketed in front of the West Coast plant on Thursday chanting "We want steel, we want steel!"
Employees at the ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) site have received notices that operations will shut down in February 2020. The steel production plant provides over 2,000 jobs to towns along the West Coast. Sammy Claassen of the SA Social & Economic Development Forum (Sasedf) said the surrounding communities were heavily reliant on the plant for work and the impact of the shutdown would be a disaster. With the high unemployment rate in the area, the plant not only provides jobs to the youth, but also specialised skills to the industry. "If you look at the labour force of this plant, it’s a young labour force. Not only that, they are skilled. There is no unskilled labour at this plant. Engineers, technicians, artisans… If this plant closes down, our ability as a steel producing country will be lost. All of these workers will have to seek work overseas," Claassen observed. As the festive season nears, the employees will still receive their salaries, but it’s knowing that they will start the new year without a job that makes them worried. Panicked workers have asked government to step in and help save their jobs.
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Bertram Malgas at News24
- Read too, 'We want steel,' chant workers demanding ArcelorMittal plant stays open, at TimesLIVE
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page