HUNDREDS SHOW SUPPORT FOR STEELWORKERS
HUNDREDS of people joined protests yesterday against the proposed loss of thousands of steel jobs in South Wales. Tata is consulting on plans to shut down blast furnaces at Port Talbot, with the loss of about 2,800 jobs as it switches to a more environmentally-friendly way of producing steel.
The firm plans to invest £750m in the electric arc furnace, alongside funding for a support package for the employees expected to be made redundant during the transition. The UK Government has committed to investing £500m at the site.
A protest was held in Port Talbot, while workers from the Llanwern site marched in Newport city centre.
Trade unions Unite and Community are currently balloting workers over strike action.
Among those attending the Port Talbot rally were Welsh Government ministers Vaughan Gething and Jeremy Miles who are rivals to be the next Welsh Labour leader and First Minister.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said there have been almost 6,400 jobs lost in the British steel industry since 2015.
“Friends, together our politicians have sat by and watched our steel industry be decimated,” she told the rally.
“They have handed our steel to overseas corporations, undermined our economy and our national security.
“Well, we say here together: no more. The time for begging is over. Now is the time for action. Now is the time for us to fight with everything we have. Fight for our communities and fight for UK steel.”
At 11am, Llanwern steelworkers were joined by their families, friends, union representatives and supporters to march through Newport city centre.
Current and former workers wore their work jackets and helmets to show the pride they have in the industry, while many in the crowd held banners and homemade signs.
During the march, Mr Gething said “an alternative is possible”.
Speaking in front of an installation of 300 daffodils to represent the jobs at risk in Llanwern, he said: “This is both a human challenge, it’s an economic challenge, and it’s a really political one as well.
“If you look at the 300 daffodils right in front of you, each one is representing a job that could be lost in the next two to three years.
“A person who could lose their job, their livelihood, a family that could lose their income. And the worst thing about all of this is that people know that this doesn’t have to happen.
“People know as they go home and are anxious about their future that an alternative is possible and yet it still could happen. The deal that the Tories have done with Tata is the reason why these daffodils are here.
“The reason why hundreds of workers are anxious for their future and more than that... anxious for the future of the people that have yet to come into the works.”
Newport East MP Jessica Morden told the crowds: “For every job in Llanwern there are three jobs in the community that depend on them. We have to fight for this industry and our community.”
Reg Gutteridge, chair of the multiunion committee at Llanwern steelworks, said: “This is all about cutting costs and opting for the cheapest possible option available to them, and it’s shameful that the Conservative government are propping up this agenda with taxpayer money.
“Today’s march in Newport was our way of sending a message to Tata and the government – we won’t back down when it comes to protecting our jobs, our industry and our steel communities.”
In the afternoon, attention shifted to Port Talbot, where Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock told the crowd: “Port Talbot steelworks has been the beating heart of our community for generations.
“Tata’s proposals for the site threaten that proud tradition and the works’ enormous future potential.
“Their narrow, electric arc furnace-only plan would sacrifice highly-skilled local jobs and leave the UK dependent on dirty steel imports.
“The people of Port Talbot and South Wales are rightly asking the company to stop and think again before it is too late – it is time for Tata, and the UK Government, to listen.”
Alan Coombs, chair of the multiunion committee at Port Talbot steelworks, said: “Steelworkers at Port Talbot are proud of our industry, and we are proud of our community which has come out in such a strong show of support for us today.
“These are uncertain times, and many of us are anxious about what lies ahead for Port Talbot. One thing is certain though, steelworkers will fight tooth and nail for the future of our industry and our livelihoods.”
Among the crowd was steelworker Martin Mason, 52, of Port Talbot, who said: “It’s all about the publicity and letting the public know about it, and keep the issue around. We have spent our entire adult lives down here and we want to see it last for the next generation.
“This place would be a ghost town without it. I’d like them to have a rethink and think about prolonging the life of the blast furnace. It’s such a big change in a short space of time, and people haven’t had time to plan.
“People down there have been leaving in droves and they’re going to find themselves understaffed.”
Fellow steelworker Adam Oakley, 42, also from the town, said: “They want to decimate us basically. [The impact will be] massive, massive. Look at Redcar and the state up there.
“It’s absolutely decimated the local economy and we don’t want that to happen here.”
A Tata Steel spokesman said: “Much of our existing iron and steelmaking operation in Port Talbot is at the end of its life, is unreliable and inefficient, and contributing to losses of £1.7m a day in the last quarter alone.
“We believe we have a very exciting future ahead, providing the high quality, low-CO2 steels that our customers in the UK and overseas are so desperate for.
“Furthermore, producing steel from scrap that already exists in significant quantities in the UK rather than importing iron ore and coal from across the world, will be the foundation for more resilient UK manufacturing supply chains.”
A UK Government spokesman said: “We recognise that this is a concerning time for Tata’s employees at Port Talbot and we will continue to support staff affected by the transition.
“The UK Government has put in place one of the biggest support packages in history, with a £500m grant as part of the £1.25bn commitment by Tata to secure the future of the Welsh steel industry.
“Additionally, £100m has been put towards the creation of a Transition Board – £80m from the UK Government and £20m from Tata Steel. This record level of support shows just how much the UK Government values the Welsh steel industry and the people and communities whose livelihoods depend on it.”