Forty Turkish guest workers who worked on Stegra's "green" steel plant construction in Boden, northern Sweden, have been waiting up to nine months for their wages. Now around 20 of them are planning to return to Norrbotten county to go on hunger strike.
The workers were employed by the Turkish company Ankitech, which was contracted by the company Gemkom, which in turn has an agreement with Stegra. They came to Boden to work on what Stegra described as a "green industrial revolution", but problems soon began to emerge.
First, the promised hourly wage was reduced from 13 to 9 dollars. Then the wages stopped coming altogether.
— Some colleagues were forced to steal food just to have something to eat, says worker Ali Çur to the Schibsted newspaper Aftonbladet.
When the problems came to light, Ankitech terminated its assignment in Boden and no longer has any operations in Sweden.
— As soon as we received signals that something was wrong, we conducted an in-depth review of the wages and working conditions. Then the company got cold feet and left Sweden, says Joakim Lindholm, regional chairman of the construction workers' union Byggnads.
Goal to reduce carbon dioxide
Stegra was founded in 2020 by billionaire Harald Mix through the investment company Vargas and was originally called H2 Green Steel. Mix was also involved in starting the now-collapsed battery factory Northvolt. However, the billionaire left the steel company in October, along with his investment company, which was replaced by Just Climate, a subsidiary of controversial climate activist Al Gore's environmental investment firm.
The goal of the new steel plant in Boden was to produce steel using hydrogen gas. This is claimed to be "climate-friendly" by reducing carbon dioxide emissions by up to 95 percent.
Received hundreds of millions in state support
Stegra has received significant state support, with the Swedish Energy Agency previously granting a total of €110 million, of which €75 million has already been paid out. While an additional €23.5 million is planned to be paid out in November. Furthermore, they have also received €250 million from the EU's Innovation Fund, according to Industrinyheter.se.
However, the company's finances will be reviewed before the next decision on state support, but the already approved funds will be paid out.
— That's what applies until something else is decided, says Klara Helstad at the Swedish Energy Agency to Dagens Industri.
Stegra's press officer Karin Hallstan states in an email that the company does not comment on individual subcontractors, but that they generally require "Swedish collective agreements" to be followed. Gemkom has promised that the workers will receive their money, but nothing has happened yet. Now around 20 of them are planning to travel back to Boden to conduct a hunger strike in the city center. Exactly when the demonstration will begin has not yet been determined.
— We don't want to cause problems for anyone. We just want justice, says Ali Çur.
