Maroela Media reports that following the announcement that ArcelorMittal SA (Amsa) would be proceeding to close its long-steel factories in Newcastle, Vereeniging and Witbank, Solidarity indicated on Monday that it would try to help members affected by the closures, among other measures, with job placements.

The announcement of the closures came despite an additional month of efforts to prevent them through further discussions between Amsa and the government. Amsa announced the final closures last Friday and the retrenchment consultations will soon come to an end. Willie Venter, deputy general secretary for the metal and engineering industry at Solidarity, commented: “The government simply stepped in too late to try to help, perhaps this was deliberately the case, and Amsa was negligent by not reviewing, repositioning or modernising its plants long ago. The challenges at Amsa’s long-steel plants have been present for a number of years already, and they have now just been brought to a head by the closure of the plants.” Solidarity intends to urgently launch an aid project in which it will join hands with members in communities such as in Newcastle, to try to find social solutions for those who have lost their jobs. “We will do everything in our power to help. Our members have skills in various specialist fields and we want to put them in touch with employers out there who need these skills. Through this aid project we will therefore focus on job placement for members affected by the closure, and on the preparation for the new opportunities. We will also assist members who are close to retirement by providing them with financial advice,” Venter indicated.

• Read the full original of the report in the above regard in Afrikaans at Maroela Media

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