Rescue plan at Port Talbot steelworks set to be agreed

TATA Steel and unions are close to agreeing a rescue plan for the Port Talbot plant.

An announcement is expected this week on a plan that could save up to 4,500 jobs at the South Wales site.

Unions have been fighting owners Tata Steel to keep one or both of the firm’s blast furnaces, one of which is due to stop production in 2018.

They also want to protect 127,000 workers in the British Steel Pension Fund and secure existing jobs.

It is understood a deal may give the unions the protections they want, but in return they may have to consider new working patterns on weekends.

Unions would not reveal the precise details of the deal, but they are putting the proposals to workers tomorrow following lengthy discussions with the Indian-owned company.

Alex Flynn, from the Unite union, said: ‘We felt that what had been put forward we could take that to our reps for them to take a view on.’

The future of the steelworks has been in doubt since Tata announced in March that it was putting all of its work in the UK up for review.

It is in talks with German group Thyssenkrupp about a possible merger, but Thyssenkrupp says it must solve its £485m inherited pensions deficit before doing so.

Port Talbot councillor Mark Jones said: ‘I spoke to people working there and they feel their futures are assured and they are looking forward to continued employment there.’

Tata said it had made ‘substantial future assurances’ with trade unions to find a ‘positive future’ for the business.

Tata’s pension scheme has been a major barrier to finding a buyer for its struggling UK arm. It inherited the fund through its takeover of steelmaker Corus in 2007. The scheme has around 130,000 members, but it is estimated that only about one in 13 are still making contributions.

While Tata has shrunk the deficit on the scheme, concerns remain that it could still fall into the Pension Protection Fund lifeboat, under which retired employees would see their incomes take a hit.