ArcelorMittal Temirtau presence in Kazakhstan is in Question
According to Kairbek Uskenbayev, minister of industry and infrastructural development, a commission established by the country’s government to investigate accidents at ArcelorMittal Temirtau is going to take tough measures.
«The government has established several commissions with more than 70 specialists from different agencies to meet the president’s order and find out the truth. The government is going to take tough measures against ArcelorMittal Temirtau including its exile from the country. You will know the details soon,» he told journalists.
He also expressed his condolences to relatives and friends of those workers who died at ArcelorMittal Temirtau.
«It is not hard to understand what is fueling angry for almost all Kazakhstanis because those people died at their workplace in times of peace,» said the minister.
He also noted that the government is going to reveal the findings of all commissions, not just one of them.
«We are going to raise the question of responsibility of not only some executives but the entire company,» Uskenbayev added.
On December 8, one more worker died at ArcelorMittal Temirtau. He was a welder working in coke production at the metallurgic plant. The authorities have launched an investigation.
This is not the first incident with lethal consequences for workers at the enterprise.
On November 3, five workers died and four were injured at the Lenin mine in the town of Shakhtinsk. This incident caused a public outcry and severe criticism by President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev toward ArcelorMittal Temirtau.
On November 9, members of parliament said that all top executives from ArcelorMittal Temirtau must stay inside the country until the end of the investigation. According to MP Yuriy Zhulin, more than 100 Kazakhstani workers died while ArcelorMittal Temirtau has been in charge of the metallurgic plant.
On November 23, the government commission established to investigate the incident at the Lenin mine revealed its findings. The commission said that the tragedy is 100% the fault of the management of ArcelorMittal Temirtau.
On November 28, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov met with the company’s executives. He demanded that ArcelorMittal Temirtau improve its safety measures, reduce pollution and put more money into the modernization of the production divisions.
