Unions prepare to fight as Tata drops Port Talbot bombshell

Workers at Tata in Port Talbot are to strike after the company ended negotiations over changes to the business which will result in 2,800 direct job losses. Negotiations between unions and the Indian steel giant have today ended at a meeting in London, formally closing any chance of an alternative plan put forward by unions being adopted.

The company will end blast furnace steel production at the Port Talbot plant and will build a £1.25bn electric arc furnace, recycling scrap steel. The UK Government has contributed £500m grant towards the plan saying it was the only way to secure any jobs.

The company has confirmed it will close blast furnace five in June and blast furnace four in September. Tata says that its plan will be the largest investment in the country’s steel industry in decades and secure the future of UK steelmaking, protecting the "majority" of jobs and reduce the UK's carbon emissions. But they say it is not viable.

READ MORE: MPs told 2,800 job losses at Port Talbot will be 'tip of the iceberg'

READ MORE: Tata threatens to withdraw generous redundancy offer if Port Talbot steelworkers strike

"However, the unions’ own analysis shows their proposal would cost the company at least an additional £1.6bn when it is already losing £1million a day. Their plans are also high risk and would jeopardise the transition to green steel making,"

A ballot of Unite members, said to total 1,500 across Port Talbot and Llanwern, has already taken place with industrial action being one option. Now, as talks with the company have broken down, the union has said strikes will be announced soon.

A ballot of Community members, the biggest union of workers at the site, is ongoing with a result expected on May 9. The GMB is also consulting its members. No strike action is expected before all the members in all unions have voted.

Community's national Officer for Steel Alun Davies said: "This is an incredibly disappointing day for Tata steelworkers who have been betrayed by a company which owes them so much. It is disgraceful that Tata Steel have chosen to pursue a discredited, bargain basement deal over a viable plan for decarbonisation which would protect jobs and preserve the country's primary steelmaking capacity.

"I know that many of our members will be feeling dejected and anxious today, so it's vital we stick together to look after one another in these uncertain times. It's also vital that we take a stand together and send a message to Tata that we will not go quietly into the night. As someone who has had the privilege of working at Port Talbot and Llanwern, I know first-hand how steel is part of our lifeblood here in south Wales. If the company think that we'll let them trample over our industry and our communities now, they really don't know us at all."

A voluntary redundancy progress will start on May 15. Tata says it expects to place equipment orders for the electric arc furnace by September 2024 and based on current permitting timelines, begin construction on the project by August 2025. It is working with the National Grid to have the power infrastructure in place to commission the electric arc furnace on schedule by end-2027.

Unions have put forward an alternative plan to the one the company is pursuing but the Indian steel giant has said it is unviable. The UK Government has put money into Tata's scheme, saying it is the only way to secure any jobs at the site.

Community General Secretary Roy Rickhuss said: "We do not accept the company's assertion our plan was too expensive - in fact, it would have returned the company to profits, and the additional capital expenditure needed to make it a reality could have been funded by an additional £450m from the government - a drop in the water compared to what other European countries are investing in their domestic steel industries. For the latest politics news in Wales sign up to our newsletter here.

Unite has described Tata’s poverty pleading over its UK operations and its claim that alternative options for Port Talbot are not feasible as a sham.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tata is an immensely profitable company using our outgoing government’s inadequacies to make easy money and boost its other operations at the expense of UK jobs and the national interest.

“Why else would it be rejecting the promise of £3 billion for UK steel investment from an incoming Labour government and turning its back on a location ideally placed to reap the rewards of a steel market projected to grow tenfold?

“Our current government has utterly failed to stand up to Tata and demand better for Port Talbot and Llanwern’s steel communities and the country. Tata’s workers, with Unite using every power at its disposal, will not so easily be defeated. It's plans will be answered with industrial action."

Following a meeting with the UK Steel Committee, Tata Steel’s CEO and managing director, Mr. TV Narendran, said: "Having looked carefully at all the options over the past seven months in consultation with union representatives, we have decided to proceed with our proposed restructuring and transition. This is the most viable proposal, in contrast to the unions’ unaffordable plan which has high inherent operational and safety risk.

"Our proposal secures a long-term future for the business and preserves the majority of jobs in the UK. We will continue to work with the trade unions over the following 2 weeks to agree a memorandum of understanding on the future of the UK business and the impact on our people. Tata Steel is committed to creating a low-CO₂ steel business at the heart of a green industrial ecosystem in Wales and the wider UK to safeguard steel supplies and create economic opportunities for generations to come."

Jo Stevens, Shadow Welsh Secretary, said the news consultation had ended is a "gut punch". "This is a total gut punch for people in Port Talbot, and the potential economic consequences will reverberate across south Wales for years."

First Minister Vaughan Gething and Welsh economy minister Jeremy Miles have said: "Quality steel, made in Wales, is the economic bedrock for many communities across Wales and is vital for the economy and security of the UK.

"We have consistently argued that there is a better deal for the industry and Tata workers that could and should be struck - securing a longer, fairer transition towards the greener production of steel in Wales. The Welsh Government will continue to make the case for that fairer transition and do all we can to support the skilled and loyal workforce and those in the supply chain. We will be reaffirming this commitment this afternoon to the transition board."

Welsh secretary David TC Davies said any strike action was a matter between unions and the company. "I think it was inevitable Tata was going to close the blast furnaces because of the losses they are making. We don't want disruption to the supply chain.

"People feel very strongly about this and 2,800 people face losing their jobs so I understand why they are angry and upset however I don't want to get into taking sides."

Tata Steel UK’s CEO, Rajesh Nair, said: "We have spent the last seven months openly and transparently sharing detailed business information, asset condition, maintenance plans and market forecasts with our trade union colleagues and advisers. While we have agreed to keep the Hot Strip Mill running through the transition, the unions’ plan presents significant financial, operational and safety challenges, and delays the transition to green steel by two years. We have concluded that it is not feasible to accept their plan, and it is not affordable.

"This is a difficult period of change for our people, and we will do our upmost to support them. Tata Steel has always been a responsible, long-term and patient investor in its UK business, and we are committing significant additional capital to ensure that we can create an operationally, financially and environmentally sustainable business for the future."