SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): Tata Steel is expected to end its consultation and press ahead with plans to close both Port Talbot blast furnaces by September, union sources have said.
Tata will meet unions in London on Thursday where it is expected to formally conclude the consultation on its restructuring.
The company wants to end blast furnace iron production in south Wales this year, and will build a £1.25bn electric arc furnace to make greener steel.
Tata Steel said it had consulted unions for months, and its proposals would “secure the future” of steelmaking.
The company began a formal consultation on its restructuring plans in February. Its proposals include closing both blast furnaces in Port Talbot and cutting around 2,800 jobs across its UK operations.
The bulk of those job losses are likely to be in Port Talbot, which is the UK’s largest steelworks.
The 45-day consultation period has passed, and Tata Steel is expected to confirm its intentions to press ahead with the closure of both blast furnaces this year.
Union sources expect Tata Steel to close the older Blast Furnace 5 by June and to end iron production at Blast Furnace 4 in September.
The unions are continuing to lobby for Blast Furnace 4 to be kept open, as they view its continued operation as vital in the transition of the Port Talbot site to a greener future.
In a statement ahead of the meeting a Tata Steel spokesman said its £1.25bn electric arc furnace “would be the largest investment in this country’s steel industry in decades and secure the future of UK steelmaking.”
The spokesman added that it had been consulting the unions “for seven months and have taken on board a number of their recommendations,” but said its analysis showed the unions’ alternative proposals “would cost the company at least an additional £1.6bn”.
The company said the unions’ alternative plans were “high risk and would jeopardise the transition” to greener steelmaking.
While Tata Steel executives will meet union leaders in London at 10:00 BST, the Transition Board which is overseeing support for workers will meet in Port Talbot at 14:00 and will be chaired by the Welsh government’s new economy minister Jeremy Miles.
Tata is radically transforming its south Wales operations to deal with financial losses and to reduce its carbon emissions.
But unions have called for a transition period to avoid compulsory redundancies and ensure a “just transition” to greener steelmaking in south Wales.
Unite union members have already voted in favour of industrial action to oppose Tata’s plans.
The company has warned that “enhanced” redundancy packages will be reduced if industrial action is carried out.
The largest steelworkers’ union, Community, and the GMB union are both currently balloting members.
Both ballots close on 9 May and unions have all vowed to strike unless Tata Steel changes its plans.
Courtesy: www.bbc.com
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