Mittal Steel Co. has made its final proposal to the trade unions of Huta Czestochowa and its subsidiaries. The April 26, 2005 proposal follows seven weeks of intense negotiations.

Mittal Steel’s proposal covers the total of 4,390 employees and offers equal terms to all workers. The proposal compares favorably to the Social Package agreed with the PHS trade unions at the time of its privatization in February 2004.

The key terms of Mittal Steel offer to HCZ trade unions and employees are:

• Average privatization bonus of PLN 3,000.
• Employment guarantee of 5.5 years and 10 years for employees of 55 years and older.
• Salary increase of PLN 150, which would result in average monthly salary of approximately PLN 2,900.

All of the above terms are individually better then the terms agreed with PHS trade unions and collectively cover not only the employees of the core business but also of its all subsidiaries.

Mittal Steel comments that it believes the proposed terms present the best offer to employees that can result in long term viability of Huta Czestochowa. The company cautions that not reaching agreement on the social package could challenge the entire privatization and restructuring of Huta Czestochowa, and could result in its imminent bankruptcy following the deadline of August 7, 2005.

Mittal Steel Co. is the world’s largest and most global steel company. The company has operations in fourteen countries, on four continents. Mittal Steel encompasses all aspects of modern steelmaking, to produce a comprehensive portfolio of both flat and long steel products to meet a wide range of customer needs. It serves all the major steel consuming sectors, including automotive, appliance, machinery and construction. For 2004, Mittal Steel had revenues of US$22.2 billion and steel shipments of 42.1 million tons.