Trade unions lash out at Lakshmi Mittal

Irate trade unionists lashed out at Olympics organisers yesterday for allowing Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal to carry the torch after wrecking the lives of laid-off workers

In a letter to Olympic chief Jacques Rogge, the leaders of four unions in Belgium and Luxembourg, home to Mittal-owned mills, said it was “a veritable insult” to have named him a torchbearer for the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Lakshmi Mittal with Indian athletes in London on Monday.

Mittal, the main sponsor of a giant red tower by the Olympics stadium, will carry the torch Thursday, along with his son, on the eve of the opening of the event.

“Since Mr Mittal became No 1 in the steel business, he has fired almost 70,000 workers across the world,” the trade unionists said.

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