Ispat Iscor confirmed that it had been served with court papers by the Solidarity trade union, and that the company would file opposing papers on the matter in due course.

The company said it appears that Solidarity is not contesting future restructuring in its court papers, but rather the restructuring of the company's support services, which had already been concluded by June 2004.

The company said there was a legally prescribed procedure for the restructuring and that it had fully complied with these requirements. The company also said it had abided by the directives of the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) facilitator in this regard.

Sanet Vorster, Acting General Manager of Human Resources, said Ispat Iscor had full confidence that its rationale for the restructuring continues to be valid and justifies the action taken by the company.

Ispat Iscor restructured its company-wide support services from October 2003 to June 2004, by amalgamating the groups into a single unit to create greater efficiencies.