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5 October, 2009
A steep three-month wage, bonus, and vacation scheme cut to 35,000 miners and metalworkers in Kazakhstan was lifted, effective 1 October. JSC ArcelorMittal Temirtau, owner of a network of coal mines and a massive steel mill in the Karaganda region of Kazakhstan, negotiated the cuts with Steel and Coal Divisions Trade Unions within the company last spring in hard bargaining.
ArcelorMittal Temirtau cited the global economic crisis for proposing the cuts, saying the Kazakhstan unit had taken a US$100 million operating loss in first quarter 2009.
After a series of difficult negotiations through a bi-lateral Conciliation Commission, representatives of the unions and management agreed on a compromise that saw coal mining wages cut by 14% and metal-working remuneration cut by 9%. In addition, vacation schedules contained in collective agreements were reduced and production bonus schemes halted. The company had initially sought 30% salary cuts
Extension of the so-called “anti-crisis agreement” beyond 30 September remained an option, but on that day management said it would not extend it and the prior wage base and benefit levels would be restored, according to the chair of a miners’ trade union at a processing plant.
In 2008, ArcelorMittal Temirtau announced it would construct a new four-million-tonne steel mill in the region, but in August plans for that new steel mill were shelved.
ArcelorMittal is the world’s largest steelmaker, with some 67 steel mills in 27 countries. About 8% of its steel-making capacity comes from its Temirtau operations. It operates eight coal mines in the Karaganda region, employing about 24,000 miners.