Unions ArcelorMittal Poland asks Prime Minister to intervene

The company is using the Covid-19 epidemic to achieve savings in employment costs and government subsidies, according to union activists.

ArcelorMittal Poland is the largest steel producer in Poland - it collects about 70 percent of the production potential of the Polish metallurgy.

At the end of May, the board of the company canceled the collective bargaining agreement, which had been in effect for 10 years, wanting to agree on new rules with the unions within the next year.
At that time, trade unionists announced that they would defend the rights of workers, and did not rule out the possibility of organizing protests.

ArcelorMittal Poland is a privately held company but uses public funds as part of the Anti-Crisis Shield. In our view, employers are in conflict with the goals of the shield, which is basically about protecting jobs in a pandemic rather than subsidizing companies using this complex process. The time when they get rid of workers' rights.

The termination of the collective agreement, the provisions of which will remain in force for another year, is explained by concerns about its obsolescence and the fact that the current legislation does not satisfy both the employer and employees.

“We want to sit down at the negotiating table with our social partners as soon as possible in order to work out regulations that are adapted to the modern labor market as soon as possible,” said Monika Roznerska, HR Director of ArcelorMittal Poland, a week ago.

She recalled that representatives of the company since September last year have been negotiating with trade union activists about changes in the current system. On May 29 this year, the Agreement was terminated with twelve months' notice. During this time, until the end of May next year, the terms of the current agreement will remain in effect and the terms of employment of employees will not change.

ArcelorMittal Poland hopes that during this time it will be possible to work out the terms of a new collective agreement. According to the company, this should meet "the current expectations of all employees, both long and short-term."

The AMP collective bargaining agreement contains workers' rights that exceed the minimum established by the Labor Code. The system determines, among other things, the amount and principles for the payment of various types of basic wage supplements that make up a significant part of employee benefits, as well as information about anniversary benefits or severance benefits upon retirement. It also guarantees, for example, annual negotiations for a wage increase.