About 50 people held a picket at the steel mill in Saldanha on Thursday in protest at a phased closure of the plant in ArcelorMittal South Africa. Gathered at the factory gate, the crowd chanted: "We want to become." They were waving banners with messages including: "Plants Saldanha should not become a white elephant" and "Our voices matter."
Sammy Klaassen, a member of the forum of South African socio-economic development, which organized the rally, said, "This is bad news for the West coast and South Africa. We need manufacturers that produce quality steel. Thousands of people will lose their job over this, and it means that affected thousands of families. Another thing in all of this closing is that the community had not consulted. The people at the top hold meetings behind closed doors."
He said the workers first heard about the closure of his company from media reports and didn't even know the reasons for the closure. "If they work at a loss or struggling to maintain the plant, as the media say, why are they not asking for help from the government? Why is the government not intervening?".
Klaassen stated that currently it is planned to organize a bus that will take members of the community in Cape town next week to protest at the Parliament building.
"We will bring this fight to Cape town," said Klaassen.
Previously, coalsalesthat the South African unit of ArcelorMittal - the steel mill Saldanha Works, conceived as a public mega-project for the smelting of steel in the South African apartheid will be closed for "loss of financial stability".
