Strike at Algeria's ArcelorMittal ended

ALGIERS: Workers ended a strike over wages at the ArcelorMittal steelworks in Annaba, northeast Algeria Thursday on union instructions, after a legal order to call off the action, a union leader said.

"We called for the resumption of work in line with the instructions of the UGTA union headquarters," company branch union secretary general Smain Kouadria, told AFP.

He added: "I am stepping down from my position because the UGTA abandoned me."

The employees launched an open-ended strike on Monday, but hours later a court in El Hadjar, near Annaba, issued an injunction for it to end on the application of ArcelorMittal's management.

The court will decide on June 30 on the legality of the strike.

ArcelorMittal steelworks in Annaba employs some 6,200 salaried workers and annually produces about 700,000 tonnes of steel.