FOR THE SECOND TIME THIS YEAR Metallurgists of ArcelorMittal Galaţi, go on forced leave

Marilena DINU,Galaţi

After all the employees of ArcelorMittal Galaţi were forced to take turns going on forced holiday leave for 10 days, the management of the Galaţi plant has decided to take similar steps again, starting April 21st. "All employees, with a few minor exceptions where it is not technically possible, will go on holiday. This decision will be applicable for five working days this time, by rotation, for a period of three weeks", said Dorian Dumitrescu, spokesperson of ArcelorMittal Galaţi said. He added that the plant officials are also on leave, and that the factor behind the decision of ArcelorMittal"s management is the current situation in the market, namely a drop in the number of orders, as well as the dwindling output.

Gheorghe Tiber, the leader of the Solidaritatea union, said that almost 4.000 steel workers will be sent home in the first stage, with the forced leave to comprise a total of three stages.

After the forced holiday, the 12000 employees of the Galaţi plant will be sent home again, under technical unemployment.

The beginning of the technical unemployment stage, that was supposed to begin on April 1st, was postponed for another three weeks. The reason behind this delay is the fact that the amendment of the Government ordinance 28/1990 has not yet been passed. The amendment provides that in the case of temporary interruption of the employer"s operation, the employees as well as the company itself would be exempt from the payment of social security contributions for the period of inactivity.

During the scheduled unemployment period, workers will be sent on holiday in groups, until the end of H1, they will be staying at home for ten days, by rotation, and they will only receive the seniority bonus and 85% of their base salary during this period.

The Galaţi unit currently employs around 12000 people, after 1600 people resigned following the layoff schedule adopted in December 2008, and employees who want to resign can still join the voluntary layoff schedule by April 30th.

Steel workers that receive the approval of ArcelorMittal to leave will receive 10000 to 25000 lei in compensation packages, together with 6 to 24 monthly salaries and an additional 5000 lei aid for people with chronic diseases.

The professional association will also announce a new voluntary layoff scheme which will only be applicable for the 1500 employees of the Chemical Coke plant of the steel plant, which will soon be shut down.

ArcelorMittal is the largest steel producer in the world, with over 300000 employees in over 60 countries. In Romania, the company operates the plants of Hunedoara and Galaţi, the pipe plants of Roman and Iaşi, and the port operator Romportmet Galaţi.