Figures show 10,000 steel jobs have gone - GMB union reveals

East Midlands has lost roles since 1981 says union

THE East Midlands has lost more than 10,000 steel jobs since 1981, even before the collapse of British Steel.

Thirty eight years ago the industry employed 12,000 workers in the East Midlands, but the numbers had dropped to just 1,330 in 2017, according to figures released by the GMB union.

This means that since 1981, the industry in the region has lost 89 per cent of its jobs.

Figures are taken from the ONS Business Register and Employment Survey (BRES) and its predecessor survey, the Census of Employment.

According to the union, Great Britain has lost more than 150,000 steel jobs – 80 per cent of the industry’s former workforce – over the last four decades.

In 1981 the industry employed 186,000 people, down to just 32,000 in 2017.

Yorkshire and the Humber was the worst hit region with 40,000 jobs, followed by the West Midlands with 25,800.

The union released the figures after British Steel, the UK’s second biggest steel company, collapsed putting a further 5,000 steel jobs at risk.

The company was placed in compulsory liquidation recently. The Government’s Official Receiver has taken control of the company, with a search for a buyer ongoing. In the meantime, the company will continue to trade.

Ross Murdoch, GMB National Officer, said: “The decline of the UK’s steel industry is devastating to see.

“Consecutive UK governments have failed to protect our proud steel heritage, and now Theresa May is overseeing its demise.

“Ministers must be prepared to make use of all the options – including nationalisation – in order to save our steel industry.

“We need a genuine commitment to manufacturing in Great Britain which focuses on investment in infrastructure and improvements to technology and training.

“It’s time the Government took its hands out of their pockets and stood up for steel.”

In his statement to the House of Commons on the British Steel insolvency process, Business Secretary Greg Clark said the government and individual ministers could only act within the law, and that this required any financial support to a steel company to be made on a commercial basis.

He added that the government had been willing to consider making a cash loan to the company but the absence of adequate security, along with no reasonable prospect any loan would be repaid, and the shareholder being unwilling to provide a sufficient cash injection itself, meant it was unable to do so.

Mr Clark said: “This is a very worrying time for everyone associated with British Steel.

“Each one of British Steel’s sites has a proud record of steelmaking excellence and I am determined to see it continue.

“Britain and the world will continue to need high quality steel, and British Steel is amongst the best in the world.

“Today is a very big setback for these operations, but it is far from being the end and we will take every possible step to secure a successful future for these vital assets – both people and plant.”