Kazakhstan hit by layoffs
2014Pavel Cantrell 2014-02Read it in the scan (PDF at ETOL), page 11 →
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ASTANA, Kazakhstan—The worldwide capital ist crisis has extended its reach to Kazakhstan— which the World Bank touted only a few months ago as a model of “solid growth.” The effects of the crisis on working people were shown as the multinational corporation, ArcelorMittal—the world’s largest steelmaker—announced that it will cut around 2500 jobs in this country in 2014. A trade-union spokesperson has unveiled the dis crepancy between the existing roster of workers and the new company plan for 2014. As a result of the cut, the workforce will be reduced by 17%.
One week after billionaire chairman Lakshmi Mittal’s visit to the steel plant in Temirtau, Ka zakhstan, and two days after the news broke out, the local branch of the company issued a state ment explaining that the resizing is mostly due to the global crisis, which has driven down the demand for the steel industry, now ailing world wide.
Vijay Mahadevan, CEO of ArcelorMittal Temir tau, penned the statement and emphasized his commitment to the improvement of the com pany’s performance through a thorough restruc turing. Orders for the company’s products di minished by 12.5% in the last two years, and the company grew a $165 million debt by the end of 2013. Mr Mahadevan emphasized that “in 2013 it was possible to cut less jobs thanks to the intro duction of a special part-time rotation, which met with the displeasure of the workers.”
Mahadevan was scolded by Mittal during his visit to the company’s headquarters last Decem ber, when he reportedly said: “We cannot afford to carry out any improvements until you learn to save money and start making money” (Novyi Vestnik Karaganda, Dec 19, 2013). It’s reported that Lakshmi Mittal organized a wedding for his nephew for $80 million. Workers underline in contrast that the monthly payroll for the work ers in the coal (i.e. the main) department is $18 million.
Mittal left with the promise of more investments in Kazakhstan once the situation at the company takes the right path towards efficiency and costeffectiveness. Right now, the 2014 business plan is “unacceptable” for the Indian billionaire.
On their part, workers are dissatisfied with the cuts, because this entails longer shifts and more responsibilities. One worker lamented that he could “barely physically manage to have the time to do everything he was required to” given that his department suffered “a cut of more than 60% of the workforce.”
Kazkakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev worked in the Temirtau steel plant during the Soviet era. Undoubtedly, a crisis in the industrial heart of the country might lead to public distress. Trade unions wrote a letter to the company’s management warning that these policies may climax in “workers’ discontent and lead to social tension and confrontation.” n ... Boeing pact (continued from page 5: “Boeing & IAM: Disappointed but not surprised”) fer had to be accepted to preserve jobs building the 777X— is contract language that allows Boeing to outsource union work. It reads: “Boeing may contract or outsource certain 777X wing fabrication and assembly work packages in whole or part.”
This contract creates a new “normal.” Why wait until a con tract is expiring? Just tell the union that it has to make con cessions, and that it has to be done now, not during contract negotiations, in order to eliminate the right to strike.
Clearly, the anger against the International’s role in this travesty is boiling over. A reform slate of candidates—includ ing Jay Cronk from local Lodge 1112 as candidate for Inter national president—is running a reform campaign that calls for: Reducing the size and salaries of the Executive Council (Buffenbarger’s 2012 salary was $304,114, and nine other IAM International employees were paid more than $265,000), holding union elections every four years, ending practices of nepotism and cronyism in the union, and stopping spending on luxury items like $1 million a year to maintain the union’s Lear jet, among other proposals. For their complete platform, see IAMreform.org.
These are important reforms but hopefully after the Boeing defeat they will expand their platform to include new strat egies that will be based in a class-struggle perspective that would have said to Boeing officials: You can’t escape us! If you flee to South Carolina or Alabama, we’ll follow you there, organize the workers, and make your corporate lives a living hell! n
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