14 January, 2009No satisfactory solution has yet been found to the situation of the Siderperu workers sacked at the end of last year, despite the efforts of the union, the IMF's Gerdau Group Global Committee and other sister organisations.
PERU: A dispute with Gerdau about more than 500 sacked Siderperu workers has become more acute now that other mining companies in Peru have sacked another 2,500 workers.
Siderperu sacked 133 miners on 28 November and 407 on 9 December 2008.
The company halted production, claiming it had very high stocks of iron and that it was more profitable to import iron from other Gerdau companies than produce it at Siderperu.
The CNMM has responded to the company, with the suport of a member of Congress, Maria Sumire, by asking the Ministry of Economy and Finances to produce a technical report on the impact of changes to customs revenue from the import of iron and ferrous products and asking the customs authority (SUNAT) to check Siderperu import orders and volumes during 2008 to see if there were any irregularities.
Finally, the CNMM's Janet Barzola said she did not discount taking legal action if Siderperu were found to have "disguised its reasons for closure in order to get rid of workers, which would be an infraction of labour law, according to our Penal Code."
Since the sackings, the IMF Gerdau Workers Global Committee has taken solidarity action with Siderperu colleagues and called on Gerdau to reinstate all sacked workers.
The Committee recognized that the crisis will have an impact on sales and on Gerdau's access to credit. However, it said that this does not mean that workers are responsible for the crisis. "Gerdau must not put the burden of the crisis on to its employees or punish them by suspending or sacking them or cutting their pay", the Committee said.
The Committee met on 10/11 December, and given the importance of this case, the IMF sent a statement to the President of the Gerdau Group, André B. Gerdau. The latter responded that "the Gerdau Group of companies in different countries have been told to seek dialogue with local trade unions to evaluate the situation of each plant and find alternatives that can achieve the best results for both the company and its employees." He added that governments, trade unions and companies must act together, quickly and flexibly, to seek solutions to minimise the effects of the crisis.
The IMF Regional Office has also communicated its solidarity with the workers by condemning the sackings and demanding that Gerdau reinstate the workers.