Several thousand steelworkers demonstrated in front of the main Thyssenkrupp plant in the north of Duisburg. IG Metall brought them there from all Thyssenkrupp sites in North Rhine-Westphalia and from Hüttenwerke Krupp Mannesmann in the south of Duisburg.
Even if industrial action is called, this will be of a token character with no call for support from other steelworkers in Britain, Europe and internationally. And without such an appeal workers will continue to be played off against one another in an endless race to the bottom.
Confronted with the loss of thousands of jobs, 10,000 steel workers from Thyssenkrupp and HKM are holding a joint works meeting on April 30 in Duisburg.
The Executive Board of industrial group Thyssenkrupp has rejected accusations by employee representatives that it has ignored them in the planned investment of EP Corporate Group in the steel.
Germany s largest steel manufacturer Thyssenkrupp Steel intends to significantly reduce its production capacities in Duisburg. This will also involve job cuts, the company announced on Thursday.