Tata Steel's Netherlands plant reaches an agreement with workers on jobs

Workers at Tata Steel's Netherlands plant said they reached an agreement with the company on Friday that there would be no layoffs at Ijmuiden as part of the upcoming reorganisation.

In a statement, Dutch labour union, FNV, said hard agreements have been made to maintain employment. "No people will be fired in IJmuiden during the reorganisation from Tata Steel Europe. In addition, the employment pact, which contains agreements on job retention, has been extended by five years until October 1, 2026," the statement read.

Roel Berghuis, director of FNV Metaal, said: "After 25 days of strike, the management of Tata Steel has finally listened to the wishes of the employees. There is a firm agreement that we will present it to our members as soon as possible."

There are about 9,000 workers at Ijmuiden. FNV said an agreement has also been reached on the company structure.

"In principle, Tata Steel promises not to sell parts from Tata Steel Netherlands, including, for example, Tata Steel Tubes in Oosterhout.

Furthermore, the work of important business units is not outsourced. Nor will proposals for outsourcing work be made in the reorganisation plans," the statement said.

Tata Steel Europe showed a turnaround in performance with positive Ebitda for the quarter ended March even as the steel industry is facing headwinds in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. Tata Steel Europe, however, was operating at about 70 per cent utilisation.

Tata Steel Europe has two integrated steelmaking sites: Ijmuiden in The Netherlands and Port Talbot in south Wales. Last year, Tata Steel Europe announced restructuring plans and indicated that it could impact 3,000 jobs.

THE AGREEMENT

• No layoffs at IJmuiden during the upcoming reorganisation in Tata Steel Europe
• Employment pact - which contains agreements on job retention - extended by five years
• In principle, Tata Steel promises not to sell parts from Tata Steel Netherlands