Tata Steel has informed its workers that operations at the Port Talbot plant may cease by 7 July due to an impending strike by the trade union Unite.
Originally, the company planned to shut down one blast furnace by the end of June and the second by September.
However, the strike starting on 8th July has led the company to believe that maintaining safe and stable operations will no longer be possible.
A Tata Steel spokesperson told Energy Live News: “Following the announcement by Unite Union to unilaterally call strike action from 8 July, Tata Steel is unfortunately forced to commence legal action to challenge the validity of Unite’s ballot.
The spokesperson continued: “In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site.
“That is not a decision we would take lightly, and we recognize that it would prove extremely costly and disruptive throughout the supply chain, but the safety of people on or around our sites will always take priority over everything else.
“The company again calls for Unite to withdraw its industrial action and join Community and GMB unions in giving consideration to the company’s proposed Memorandum of Understanding, which puts forward a wide-ranging proposal including generous employee support packages, training, and skills development.
“We understand the impact of our restructuring will have on many employees and contractors, but we remain committed to a just transition and – pending a government-backed grant funding agreement – to the £1.25 billion investment in low-CO2 steelmaking, which will ensure Tata Steel has a long and sustainable future in the UK.”
Unite has criticised Tata’s decision to advance the shutdown, calling it the latest in a series of threats.
Unite’s General Secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tata putting out a statement to shut or pause its blast furnaces three months earlier than they intended to is the latest In a long line of threats that won’t deter us.
“The Unite campaign is not about selling jobs, it’s about securing the long-term future of steel making in this country for thousands of workers in Port Talbot and South Wales.”
Commenting on the news that Tata Steel is to close both blast furnaces at its Port Talbot works in South Wales earlier than planned, Dr Simon Cran-McGreehin, Head of Analysis at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit said: “This news will obviously be hugely concerning to workers at the plant, and it did not have to be this way.
“A planned transition to future-proof technologies, including hydrogen, could have saved many more jobs. There are already around 30 green steel plants projects globally; without a proper plan, the UK is falling behind in the development of green steel manufacturing.”
Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, GMB National Officer, said: “This is a sad day for steel. Tata must step back from this irreversible decision and safeguard steelmaking assets.
“There’s a general election in days that could change so much. We know there is a future for steelmaking in South Wales. That future must be preserved.”
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