Tata Steel Europe has agreed not to enforce ‘compulsory redundancies’ at the Dutch operation, ending 25day long industrial actions which continuously disrupted operations at the IJmuiden plant in Netherlands.

While the Dutch union FNV, which was championing the protest, claimed that ‘no people will be fired’ as part of the transformation programme undertaken by Tata Steel, the company did not rule out job losses but after ‘due consultation process’.

“As part of the agreement, the employment pact for employees in the Netherlands will be extended by five years and there will be no compulsory redundancies from the company’s transformation programme. These are the key aspects of the agreement following negotiations between the company and unions which finished late last night,” Tata Steel said in a statement on Friday.

“Hard agreements have been made to maintain employment. No people will be fired in IJmuiden during the upcoming reorganisation from Tata Steel Europe,” FNV said in a statement prior to Tata Steel’s communication.

The company, which surprised the market with positive EBIDTA for the European operation for the JanuaryMarch quarter, said that Tata Steel’s Dutch management team will discuss the transformation programme, and the resulting job losses with the local works council following a consultation process.

IJmuiden operation, the Dutch part of the erstwhile Corus which Tata Steel had acquired in 2007, is a superior business than its British counterpart. However, the Indian management is not entirely happy with the business, which they think has ‘slipped a bit’ lately.

Tata Steel and Thyssenkrupp were keen to merge their steel business to strengthen European operations. However, the deal could not pass the European Commission’s merger control. Since then the Indian management has been trying to improve operational performance through transformation programmes.

FNV on Friday claimed to have won several concessions that would not make implementation of the programme easier. “In addition to the future and employment, the agreement also contains agreements about working less for older employees. The current generation pact has therefore been extended by two years until December 31, 2024. This pact includes the possibility of working 50 percent after the age of 60, while retaining 100 percent pension accrual and 77 to 90 percent of wages, depending on the amount of the current salary.

The union also says agreement has also been reached on the company structure. In principle, Tata Steel promises not to sell parts from Tata Steel Netherlands, including, for example, Tata Steel Tubes in Oosterhout. Furthermore, the work of important business units is not outsourced. Nor will proposals for outsourcing work be made in the reorganisation plans.

Commenting on the deal, Henrik Adam, CEO of Tata Steel in Europe, said: “This agreement should give our employees the confidence that Tata Steel is fully committed to building a sustainable future for IJmuiden. We share an ambition with our employee representatives to restore IJmuiden’s position as the most competitive steel plant in Europe.”