Union: Tata Steel UK employees stage indefinite strike

Tata Steel UK workers in South Wales will go on an “indefinite strike” from July 8 in protest against the company’s layoff plans, the Unite union said on Friday.

The Indian steel giant began shutting furnaces at its sprawling Port Talbot facility in March. The furnaces, originally scheduled to close from July, are used to convert coal into coke, a key raw material for steelmaking.

“Around 1,500 Tata workers in Port Talbot and Llanwern will begin a full-scale, indefinite strike against the company’s plans to cut 2,800 jobs and close its blast furnaces,” Unite said in a statement on Friday.

“The strike … will severely disrupt Tata’s operations in the UK. It is the first time in over 40 years that steelworkers have gone on strike in the UK.”

The strike will begin just four days after the British general election. Many experts expect the opposition Labour Party to easily beat the ruling Conservatives.

“Labour has also made emergency talks with Tata a priority if the company wins the election,” Unite added.

Tata announced in January that it would close the coking plants and two high-emission blast furnaces at Port Talbot, Britain’s largest steelworks, resulting in the loss of up to 2,800 jobs.

“Tata workers are not just fighting for their jobs – they are fighting for the future of their communities and the future of the steel industry in Wales,” added Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham.

“The strikes will continue until Tata abandons its disastrous plans. Unite is fully supporting Tata workers in their historic fight to save the Welsh steel industry and give it the bright future it deserves.”

The reform comes against the backdrop of a shift in the European steel industry, which is trying to finance less carbon-intensive production.

Tata plans to invest £1.25 billion ($1.58 billion) in arc furnace technology to reduce carbon dioxide emissions in the long term.

In response to the strike announcement, the company said it was “extremely disappointed.”

“Our existing steel production facilities are nearing the end of their life, are operationally unstable and are generating unsustainable losses of one million pounds a day,” it said in a statement.

“For this reason, preparations for the closure of the blast furnaces and associated facilities at Port Talbot remain ongoing.

“However, if the safety and stability of our operations are jeopardized by this action, we will be forced to accelerate these closure plans.”

Tata said the company considers its support offer to workers affected by the closure to be “the most generous in our history.”

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