British union Unite suspends strike at Tata Steel in Port Talbot | Company news

July 1, 2024

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham described it as a “significant” development in the fight to protect jobs and the long-term future of steel production in South Wales.

Ishita Ayan Dutt Calcutta

The British union Unite on Monday suspended the strike planned for next week at Tata Steel in South Wales.

In a statement, the union said its current industrial action at Tata Steel in South Wales had been suspended. “The decision follows confirmation from Tata, resulting from discussions at the highest level over the weekend, that the company is now ready to enter into negotiations in South Wales, including Port Talbot, on future investment in its operations, rather than just redundancies,” Unite said in a statement.

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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham described it as a “significant” development in the fight to safeguard jobs and the long-term future of steel production in South Wales. “The Labour investment secured by Unite will be vital to the future of the site,” said Graham.

The United Kingdom (UK) general election is on 4 July and Unite is the Labour Party’s biggest trade union supporter. Unite is one of three unions at Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant.

According to the sources, the discussion about “future investments” refers to the period after the completion of the electric arc furnace (EAF) in Port Talbot.

Around 1,500 Unite members at Tata Steel in South Wales imposed a ban on overtime and work-to-rule on June 17. They were due to go on an indefinite strike on July 8. “Both forms of industrial action have been suspended,” the union said.

On June 21, Unite announced that it would strike in Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales starting July 8. The core of the issue is the closure of blast furnaces, which puts around 2,800 jobs at risk.

Following Unite’s strike call, Tata Steel stated that if the safety and stability of operations were at risk, the company would be forced to accelerate blast furnace closure plans. On June 28, Tata Steel also stated that it would be forced to take legal action to challenge the validity of Unite’s ballot paper.

The company also called on Unite to withdraw its industrial action and join Community and GMB unions in considering the company’s proposed memorandum of understanding (MoU), which sets out a proposal that includes, among other things, employee packages, training and skills development.

After lengthy discussions, Tata Steel and the Conservative UK government agreed on a £1.25 billion investment proposal for Port Talbot in September 2023. This included a £500 million grant from the UK government to replace emissions-intensive blast furnace technology with low-carbon steelmaking using the EAF process.

As part of the restructuring, Tata Steel has begun winding down heavy plant operations. One blast furnace is to be shut down shortly. Another blast furnace is to be shut down by the end of September. At the beginning of March, the coke ovens, an important facility for primary steel production, had to be closed.