(Trinidad Express) – One hundred and nineteen steel workers received retrenchment letters from Point Lisas-based steel giant Arcelor Mittal Steel on Monday.

The workers, who were temporarily laid off in January, learned their positions had become redundant and will now individually meet management to discuss severance packages.

However, president of the Steel Workers Union of Trinidad and Tobago (SWUTT), Lex Lovell, said this move was “ridiculous”, adding the company was using the global economic downturn as an excuse to cut staff while keeping operations running at full levels.

An estimated 9,000 employees have been dismissed from the 60 Arcelor Mittal plants worldwide, as part of an ongoing attempt to recoup the financial losses sustained as a result of the global economic crisis.

“Since the layoffs in January, they have one man doing the job of two and three. It cannot continue, workers will fall down on the job. How can they expect one person to sustain that kind of pressure?” Lovell asked in a telephone interview.

In January, the steel giant issued notices to 120 employees offering them an ex-gratia payment of 40 per cent of their usual salary as part of the temporary lay-off plan that was supposed to last three months. With the layoff period set to officially end tomorrow, the union was initially planning to hold a massive protest outside the facility if they did not receive any word from the plant.

On Friday, the union learned that retrenchment letters were being prepared for the workers. On Monday, Lovell said protesting now was a waste of time and energy, adding he is taking the fight to a higher level.

“The union will be sending a letter to the Ministry of Labour to get the retrenchment reversed. After that we will take it to court if it comes to that.

We are willing to take this all the way to get justice,” he said.

Fazad Mohammed, manager of communications at the plant, said the company deeply regretted the decision, but it became necessary to ensure the company’s long-term sustainability and survival. He said the move is part of a wider restructuring exercise the steel company has to undertake.

“At the onset of the global financial crisis, the company was forced to reduce production across our operations in the fourth quarter of 2008,” he said on Monday.