Steelworkers at Tata Steel UK have voted in favour of industrial action in protest against the company’s restructuring plans, with members of the Community union set to begin their own strike ballot. Unite said approximately 1,500 Tata steel workers in Port Talbot and Llanwern backed action against the loss of nearly 3,000 jobs as the firm seeks to replace blast furnace production with a greener alternative requiring fewer workers. The Community union, the mode traditional steelworkers’ union, is calling for industrial action, with Tata’s plans labelled “unviable, undeliverable, and unacceptable” by its general secretary, Roy Rickhuss.
Unite claimed that Tata had threatened to withdraw enhanced redundancy packages if workers went on strike and said the company should make use of a £3bn investment pledge from the Labour Party for UK steel. Tata is spending £1.25bn on a new electric arc furnace to be constructed at Port Talbot, with the UK government contributing £500m towards the project. Unions have suggested keeping at least one blast furnace open until the electric furnace is fully operational, reducing the number of job losses.
Tata has argued that such a move could pose safety risks. The company is the largest steel employer in the UK and employs 8,000 people, with approximately 4,000 based in Port Talbot. The union hopes to apply pressure on Tata to change direction with industrial action. Dates for the strikes have yet to be announced
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