Union have given steel giant Tata an alternative plan aimed at saving jobs at Port Talbot steelworks. Indian-owned Tata Steel wants to decarbonise the site under moves to safeguard its future with it understood to be losing £1m a day
Unions, Unite Community and the GMB, fear the plan would lead to around 3,000 job losses with a move away from the existing two blast furnaces to making steel from scrap steel through electric arc furnaces.
They have used independent consultancy Syndex to draw up an alternative plan for the Port Talbot site which was presented to Tata on Friday. The unions said they were currently unable to give details on their alternative plan.
In a joint statement the unions said: "We have told Tata Steel that their current proposals are unacceptable, and national officials from Community, Unite and GMB met today with the company to present alternative proposals developed by industry experts Syndex.
"The unions believe that Syndex have prepared a credible and deliverable alternative plan to decarbonise steelmaking at Port Talbot which can make the business fully sustainable, avoid compulsory redundancies and safeguard the future for all the downstream sites.
"Today’s discussion was constructive, and moving forward we urge Tata to progress meaningful consultations and show greater ambition to secure the future of Tata Steel UK. The stakes are high and the UK Government must play their part through engaging with the unions to assess the best strategy for the industry and for the country as a whole.”
TUC General Secretary Paul Nowak said: "A just transition to net zero can only be delivered with workers at the table. It is unacceptable that the steel unions were locked out of negotiations between ministers and Tata Steel about Port Talbot.
"The agreement reached between Tata Steel and the government is a bad deal for workers, for the steel industry and for the country. It will result in mass job losses, further run down Britain's industrial capacity and fail to deliver the jobs of the future that we desperately need.
"Today Community, Unite and GMB are putting forward a better plan - one that will protect jobs, lead an industrial revival and meet the UK's commitment to net zero. It's time for ministers and Tata Steel to step back from the brink, sit down with unions and engage with this serious plan to secure the future of steelmaking at Port Talbot."
In September the UK Government announced £500m in support to decarbonise the steelworks with Tata pledging £700m of its own funding.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said: “Tata Steel, its employee representatives and the UK and Welsh governments are all committed to transitioning to greener steelmaking in the UK.
“While we recognise the understandable concerns of our many stakeholders, we are confident that we can build a sustainable, low carbon business that continues to support steel communities, and will be at the heart of a future green UK economy.
“We welcome the opportunity to discuss the UK Steel Committee’s report and the independent analysis it will offer. We will give it full consideration before entering into formal consultation with our employee representatives and will ensure these discussions are transparent, productive and carried out in a meaningful way.”
