9 August, 2010Los Mineros of Mexico Achieves 14% Gains with ArcelorMittal.
MEXICO: Good relations between the ICEM affiliate Mexican National Miners' and Metalworkers' Union (SNTMMSRM), or Los Mineros, and Luxembourg-based steelmaker ArcelorMittal have made it possible for the union to post 14 per cent overall gains in renewal negotiations recently.
The contract covers 4,000 steelworkers at the massive ArcelorMittal's Lázaro Cárdenas SA de CV complex in Michoacan state.
The new agreement was signed on Wednesday, August 4, in Vancouver, Canada, between Los Mineros General Secretary Napoleón Gomez Urrutia, Sergio Beltrán Reyes, Javier Zuñiga García of the union's executive, and Mario García Ortíz of Los Mineros in Michoacan state, with William Chisholm, CEO of ArcelorMittal Mexico, and Jose Luis Fuentes Quiroz Director of Human Resources.
The agreement was signed in Canada where Napoleón Gomez continues to lead the union while in exile.
There was no involvement by the Mexican Ministry of Labour in the negotiations.
The new agreement increases direct wages by 8 per cent, and benefits by 6per cent, to be paid retroactively from May 1, 2010. The agreement also includes a one-time payment of US$1,300 to each worker for social benefits, including those permanently employed and those employed through subcontractors.
Los Mineros and ArcelorMittal had been negotiating for several weeks prior to a August 1 expiration of a prior agreement. It was extended by three days to allow the Los Mineros leadership to attend the 14th National Mineworkers Forum on July 30 in Cananea, marking the third anniversary of the Cananea copper strike in northern Sonora state.
ArcelorMittal posted net profits in second quarter 2010 of US$1.7 billion. This compares to a net loss of US$792 million for the same period in 2009. At Lázaro Cárdenas, Los Mineros gave approval in May for merger of the company's four business units, a move that will give the company greater flexibility and mobility of raw materials and resources between its flat steel and slab steel production processes.