This week, on Wednesday, a group of 45 trade unionists from U. S. Steel Košice took part in a demonstration organized by IndustriAll with the support of the European Steel Association (EUROFER) in Brussels. Thousands of demonstrators called on the European Commission to save industry, preserve employment and fight global overcapacity and unfair trade.
We are talking to the chairman of RO OZ KOVO U. S. Steel Košice, Juraj Varga.
How would you evaluate your participation in this demonstration?
It was like the harmony of one voice of thousands of demonstrators. Everyone named the same problems that have been bothering us in the last five years, during which the EU has been resonating that the industry is as if a burden. This has fatal consequences for all countries. It is not only a reduction in production, but also a reduction in the number of employees. Where will it result? To the closure of factories? This was stated on the podium by all representatives of all trade unions that are grouped in IndustriAll (from Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, France, Belgium, Italy, Spain, Germany...). The point of each individual contribution was the same and was heard from representatives of various industries. Chairwoman Monika Benedeková spoke on behalf of OZ KOVO. We also had the opportunity to talk to colleagues from other associations, other countries. We all have the same opinion.
What if the demands of trade unionists are not heard and taken into account in the Clean Industry Agreement, which the European Commission is due to present on 26 February?
We all trust that the European Commission will take these requirements into account. Industry in Europe has already reached its bottom, we should be bouncing back from it. We need such conditions for industry to survive and remain in Europe. If this does not happen, we have other activities planned. In Germany, for example, IG Metal will hold various public meetings in front of the factories that are most at risk, in which it has already been announced that there will be a reduction in the number of employees. There will be so-called European Action Days, press conferences... We will commemorate each other publicly.
The journey to Brussels, so to speak, was certainly difficult...
Yes, it was. But we had everything very well organized. We set clear rules that everyone respected. We were well equipped with flags, banners, whistles... If I compare it with our participation in the demonstration 9 years ago, this time it was much better, also thanks to the experience we had. I created a group of all participants on Whats up and everyone received information at once: when the next stop will be, what time and where we meet, what will happen next.... And it worked very well.
Photo: Ján Kisucký
