OREANDA-NEWS. May 6, 2010. ArcelorMittal holds its fourth annual Health and Safety Day. The theme for this year’s event – ‘Leading by Example’ – reflects ArcelorMittal’s ongoing commitment to maintaining the highest standards of employee health and safety. For ArcelorMittal staff based at ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih in Ukraine, the 2010 Health and Safety Day provided the opportunity to engage on this important issue by reviewing results of work safety and outlining how all employees must be involved and lead in the HS action plan for 2010.

Focus will be in the following areas:

• Ensuring better understanding of the work safety standards by all employees and especially middle level managers. They will be involved in work safety audits every two weeks to raise awareness on how to lead by example and to teach them how to prevent work safety rules violation. Managers will also undergo Health and Safety trainings according to ArcelorMittal corporate standards.

• Provisions regulating the subcontractor selection process will be strengthened. Sub-contractors working with ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih will have to comply with the Group’s international safety standards.

• In 2010 ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih will invest about 120 mln UAH to improve working conditions (air-conditioners and a ventilation system in shops), further production modernization and automation (a new packing line of ready products, new tire assembling devise), prevention (development of an early warning system) and workers’ health improvement (new drinking water purification system).

Jean Jouet, CEO, ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih: “At ArcelorMittal Kryviy Rih we take the health and safety of our work force very seriously. For the last 5 years, we have been committed to bringing the company to the highest international safety standards, consistent with ArcelorMittal Group. This year’s accidents remind us that progress still needs to be made. We will take a series of important actions with focus on HS standards for employees and sub-contractors. ArcelorMittal will also reinvest future proceeds in Health and Safety and in further modernization of the Kryviy Rih plant as soon as we can notice that economic conditions and the plant profitability clearly improve.”

Coinciding with the International Labour Organisation’s (ILO) World Day for Health and Safety at Work, ArcelorMittal’s 2010 Health and Safety Day provides an opportunity for employees and contractors from across the company’s global network to share best-practice and reaffirm their commitment to ArcelorMittal’s ‘Journey to Zero’ continuous improvement program. A range of workshops focus on core themes including correct nutrition and health at work; traffic risks and rules; fire-fighting; and the importance of shared vigilance.

“ArcelorMittal’s mission is simple – we are committed to becoming the safest steelmaker in the world. As such, we regard Health and Safety Day as being one of the most important annual events in our company’s calendar,” comments Lakshmi N Mittal, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, ArcelorMittal. - “Industry is only now emerging from the most serious economic recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s. With productivity slowly starting to increase towards pre-crisis levels, now is the ideal time to reiterate our number one priority – the wellbeing of employees, regardless of their level within the company,” he adds.

‘Safe, sustainable steel’ is the fundamental operating philosophy that ArcelorMittal seeks to instill across its global operations. This includes for example joint management/trade union health and safety committees at each company site, as well as providing comprehensive training and education programs for staff.

Recent evidence demonstrates that this strong focus on employee engagement is manifesting itself in improved health and safety figures across ArcelorMittal. In 2009, the amount of working hours lost due to injury across the company’s mining and steelmaking operations fell to 1.9 incidents per million hours worked, compared with 2.5 incidents per million hours worked in 2008.