WE’RE STEEL IN THE FIGHT
Port Talbot staff back strikes in jobs row
STEELWORKERS have voted to strike over planned job cuts.
Unite said around 1,500 of its members based in Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales backed industrial action “decisively”.
The union is fighting owner Tata’s plans to shut blast furnaces and replace them with “greener” electric arc furnaces.
Unite said it will be the first time in over 40 years that Port Talbot steelworkers have gone on strike.
It claimed Tata has other choices after the union secured a commitment from Labour to invest £3billion in UK steel, compared with the £500million pledged by the Tory Government.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This ‘yes’ vote has happened despite Tata’s threats that if workers took strike action, enhanced redundancy packages would be withdrawn.”
The union’s Wales regional secretary, Peter Hughes, added: “Tata has employed everything to discourage our members from industrial action.” The union Community is also balloting its members at Tata for action.
A spokesperson for Tata Steel said: “Following the announcement in January of plans to invest £1.25bn and to restructure the UK business, we started a formal consultation.
“On March 22, we put forward a significantly enhanced, comprehensive package of support.
“We are naturally disappointed that while consultation continues, Unite members at Port Talbot and Llanwern have indicated that they would be prepared to take industrial action up to and including strike action if agreement cannot be reached on a way forward.
“We have written to Unite twice to notify them of significant irregularities in the ballot process.”
They added Tata is currently reporting losses of more than £1m a day, saying: “Much of our iron and steelmaking operation in Port Talbot is at the end of its life, is unreliable and inefficient.”