The administration of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih suspended the existing labor agreement without the consent and approval of the main representatives of the unions operating at the plant. The Kryvorizka trade union leader of the Independent Trade Union of Mineworkers of Ukraine, Yuriy Samoilov, said:

The management argues that the company has suffered the consequences of the Russian aggression and that only part of its production is now operational. In this context, it has been decided to suspend for the time being certain clauses of the labor agreement which, according to the management and the owners, are no longer relevant.

According to the order issued by the administration of ArcelorMittal Kryvyi Rih, during the period of martial law, the payment of annual leave and other expenses for participation in cultural, recreational and sports events is no longer made. In addition, workers have also been denied their rights on the grounds that some health centres and facilities are located in the occupied territories.

The union does not hide its indignation at such actions by the administration, as well as the fact that some managers are deliberately or unconsciously endangering workers on social networks in connection with the resumption of work in some of the factory’s production units.

As Yuriy Samoilov rightly said, the enemy has not stopped its strikes on the territory of Ukraine, including the Dnipropetrovsk region, so vigilance and caution are called for. As for the cancellation of several clauses of the current labor agreement, the main coordinator of the union is fighting for the administration to fulfil its obligations. Over the past year and all the previous years, it has made large profits by employing workers and paying them wages that are significantly lower than those received by their colleagues at the company’s enterprises abroad.