OREANDA-NEWS. July 24, 2013. Prime Minister Serik Akhmetov visited JSC "ArselorMittalTemirtau" during his working trip to Karaganda region.

The Head of Government inspected reconstruction of the chimney of the oven battery number 5 and the construction of the gas treatment system of the converter number 1. Deputy executive director for the repair of JSC "ArcelorMittal Temirtau" V.Basin reported that "work is going according to the planned schedule." In early August, the repair will be completed, and the fifth and seventh coke batteries will work normally.

During the meeting on the activities of the company and the socio-economic development of Temirtau, Serik Akhmetov said that the well-being of the city depends on the effective and stable operation of ArcelorMittalTemirtau.

"There has been a decrease in production volumes at the plant. The main reason is the unstable operation of blast furnaces and high accident risk of equipment," Akhmetov said.

Also among the problems there were identified issues of implementation of the plan of modernization, implementation of contractual obligations, implementation of environmental measures, better policy of sales of finished products, improvement of labor relations.

During the meeting, the Prime Minister instructed to conduct a technological audit of the company, to develop recommendations to address weaknesses and improve the efficiency of the production process.

Regarding the labor relationship Akhmetov said that today the actual number of personnel is below the established standards.

"These standards were developed by the company itself, and agreed with the trade unions, approved by the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies. Thus, it is impossible to reduce the number of employees.

Akhmetov also considers it necessary to carry out measures to reduce occupational injuries, make decisions on insurance payments, review the policy for the implementation of environmental measures. Focusing on the issues of social responsibility he stressed that the company should take care of the employees' welfare.

In addition, Akhmetov instructed the Ministry of Industry and New Technologies to reconsider the concept of modernization and diversification of production, taking into account the demand in the domestic market. He instructed the responsible persons to carry out a continuous and strict control to ensure stable operation of the enterprise.