Protest at ArcelorMittal Saldanha Steel Plant over Closure

Release time：Nov 25, 2019 From：admin

About 50 people picketed outside the Saldanha Steel plant on Thursday, to protest against the phased closing down of the plant by ArcelorMittal South Africa. Sammy Claassen, a member of the South African Social and Economic Development Forum, which organised the picket, said “This is bad news for the West Coast and South Africa. We need steel manufacturers that produce quality steel. A thousand people will lose their jobs because of this and that means thousands of families will be affected. Another thing about this whole closure is that the community was not consulted about it. Saldanha Steel came into existence because of the Saldanha community, but now, when decisions like these are being made, the community is shut out. The people at the top are having meetings behind closed doors.”

He said the community first heard about the closure through media reports and did not even know the reasons for the closure. He said “If they are working at a loss or struggling to sustain the plant as the media says, then why don’t they ask help from government? Why doesn’t government intervene? If a big company like this closes down, it affects small, medium and micro enterprises and entrepreneurs, who are providing jobs.”