Film featuring ex-Ispat workers in Ireland may make French employees nervous

Documentary makers say steelworkers in France whose futures look uncertain will “probably feel very nervous” when they see how employees were treated by one of the world’s richest men after he closed a plant in Co Cork in 2001.

The TV programme team spent several days in Cobh chronicling the closure of the Irish Ispat plant by Lakshmi Mittal whose wealth, according to Forbes magazine, is in the region of €12bn.

The Haulbowline plant’s 450 workers received only statutory redundancy and noses were further rubbed in it afterwards when the Indian-born tycoon spent more than €50m on his daughter’s wedding reception, renting the Palace of Versailles for the occasion.

Zoé de Bussièrre, who is directing the documentary to be aired on the France 2 public news channel on Jan 31, has interviewed a number of former employees, some of whom worked at the plant for over 40 years.

She said Mittal was cutting back on production at some of his Arcelor-Mittal steel plants in eastern France and workers feared for their jobs, despite claims he will redeploy them.

“We have come to Ireland to investigate what he did when he shut down the steel plant here. They [the former Irish Ispat workers] are still very bitter they only got statutory redundancy. They also spoke about the money he spent on his daughter’s wedding. This [documentary] will make the French workers probably feel very nervous,” said Ms de Bussièrre.

She hopes the left-wing French government led by François Hollande will put pressure on Mittal to maintain the jobs.

Cllr John Mulvihill (Lab), who once worked at the Haulbowline plant, was one of the men interviewed for the documentary.

“We obviously have sympathy with the 10,000 French steel workers who could be affected. He [Mittal] seems to have an attitude of coming in and asset stripping plants. Unions and the EU should keep a close eye on him,” he said.

Mittal purchased the ailing Irish Steel plant in 1995. The rainbow government which was in power at the time sold the business to the steel magnate for stg£1. However, the deal also meant he took over the company’s £50m debts.

He guaranteed, at the time, to keep the plant open for five years. It ceased trading on Jun 15, 2001.

“Mittal also promised he’d invest in the plant but he didn’t spend a penny upgrading it” said Mr Mulvihill.