Czech media reported that management of the Liberty Ostrava steelworks signed an agreement with the trade unionists on the future of the company. It concerns future investments, production and employment, but also extends the current collective agreement until 2023. The agreement of the company with the trade unions enshrines, for example, the minimum annual steel production, the new owner is committed to maintaining employment and labor and social standards for all steel workers. It also sets out how emission allowances will be managed.
Mr Jon Bolton Managing Director of Liberty Steel Continental Europe said “We are aware of the importance of the smelter for the Ostrava region and the whole country and we want to continue developing and investing in steel production here. An important point is also the commitment to intensive negotiations on the purchase of the energy company TAMEH Czech, which supplies the steelworks with all the energy needed to produce steel and which remained the property of the joint venture between the original owner of the steelworks, ArcelorMittal and the Polish energy holding Cerna Dvorakova.”
The agreement was established for more than a year, and negotiations between the unionists and the new owner were initially intensified. For example, the trade unionists feared that the sale of the company to the Liberty Group would irreversibly damage the Ostrava steelworks. But when they took over the new owner, the situation looked much better.
Source of information