The Mexican Chamber of the Iron and Steel Industry (Canacero) condemned the illegal blockade by a group of unionized workers who have been preventing the production of steel and exploitation of an iron ore mine owned by the unit in Mexico for 18 days of the global steel giant ArcelorMittal.
“La Canacero condemns the strike faced by our member company ArcelorMittal at its facilities in Lázaro Cárdenas. According to what was resolved by the judicial authority, this situation lacks any legal basis,” the business chamber that brings together the 10 largest steel companies in Mexico reported in a press release.
The blockade of part of the ArcelorMittal facilities in Mexico began on May 24 with the argument of a poor distribution of profits to workers. On May 28, Section 271 of the Mining Union called the company to strike. On June 8, a federal labor judge deemed the blockade illegal.
Until noon (Mexico City local) on Monday (June 10), the blockade at the steel company's facilities remained in place. SteelOrbis attempted to contact the union, but received no response.
In this regard, Canacero said: “Despite complying at all times with the applicable legal provisions, the company has proposed alternatives in order to achieve a conciliatory agreement, which have been rejected by the counterparty (the union) generating serious effects on the plant's operations and compromising its future viability."
According to a calculation by SteelOrbis, considering the production capacity of the blocked blast furnace, in those 18 days of the strike, ArcelorMittal would have lost more than 118,000 metric tons (mt) of steel production.
ArcelorMittal in Mexico is the largest steel company in the country. Last year it manufactured 3.9 million mt of raw steel. In its mining complexes it reported a production of 4.5 million mt of iron ore.