UGT FICA rejects the shutdown of ArcelorMittal's Blast Furnace A in Asturias

He considers that "it is a speculative maneuver aimed at eliminating supply in the market to maintain high steel prices"

OVIEDO, 2 Sep. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Federation of Industry, Construction and Agriculture of the UGT has expressed its "total opposition" to the communication made by the ArcelorMittal Spain Group to stop the production of Blast Furnace A, one of the two blast furnaces it has in Asturias, and has regretted a decision "that generates a lot of uncertainty in the production and commercial processes in Asturias, as well as in the rest of the flat plants in Spain" (Etxebarri, Lesaka, Legasa and Valencia).

UGT FICA has warned that this "unilateral" decision adopted by the company "is nothing more than a speculative maneuver aimed at eliminating supply in the market to maintain high steel prices."

The union adds that "the reality is that the steel sector is obtaining record profits that contradict the arguments put forward by the management to paralyze the production of Blast Furnace A, such as an alleged fall in the steel market in a situation marked by high energy costs coupled with poor forecasts for the coming months".

UGT recalls that Spain currently has the most competitive electricity and gas tariff of all the surrounding countries and of the European Union as a whole, and that the Spanish Government has announced new measures that will further reduce the current price, such as greater compensation for CO2 emissions, further reducing the energy costs that ArcelorMittal's management complains about.

UGT FICA reiterates ArcelorMittal's non-compliance with social agreements and the risk posed to social dialogue by the imposition of a far-reaching measure such as a stoppage in the production of a blast furnace.

"In addition, this decision raises serious doubts for us both about ArcelorMittal's future plans regarding the decarbonisation of Spanish plants and about the future reactivation of blast furnace A in Asturias," the union says.

For all these reasons, UGT FICA demands that the company clarify the industrial and labor future of all the workers in the ArcelorMittal group in Spain and confirm its irrevocable commitment to the Spanish plants.