Ritika Janiya
The UK government has released £13.5 million from a fund worth £100 million to bail out workers and businesses hit by Tata Steel’s job cuts at the Port Talbot plant. The money is to assist local firms in finding new markets as Tata moves to greener production, for workers to acquire new skills and jobs as a large amount of jobs are being shed.
The UK government has already stepped in with a £13.5 million support package to help workers and businesses affected by job cuts at the Port Talbot steel plant of Tata Steel. It is but the first tranche from an overall £100 million fund agreed upon to help those affected in the wake of the company’s restructuring effort.
Tata Steel recently shut one of Port Talbot’s two blast furnaces and has announced the closing of the second in September, together with thousands of jobs, as part of going green.
This has been unveiled by the Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens to see £13.5 million be availed from the fund and support local firms who are hugely dependent on Tata Steel for business. This will be channeled towards enabling the firms to find new customers and markets, and supporting workers to get new jobs and acquire fresh skills while accessing training where there are job opportunities.
The government is also dealing with Tata Steel for searching options where maximum jobs could be rescued. According to Ms. Stevens, “everything is on the table” as the government seeks to protect as many jobs as possible.
When asked if it had become acceptable to her now that probably only recycled steel rather than virgin steel could be produced in the future in Port Talbot, she answered, “I want to see all types of steel products made in the United Kingdom, and I want to see as many as possible made here in Wales.”
This £13.5 million that is now being made available is only a first step. This is to establish a safeguard for the workers and businesses in having the means necessary for support while they are making the transition. Reluctantly, Tata Steel has initiated a program of voluntary redundancy. Employers who are interested in this option need to indicate their willingness to leave the company. The deadline allowing for this to happen is August 7.
Recently, Ms. Stevens chaired for the first time the Tata Steel Port Talbot transition board. Originally, this board was established by the previous Conservative government to oversee transition at Port Talbot. Speaking ahead of this morning’s meeting, the Minister said the first release of £13.5 million underlined just how serious this government is about moving quickly to help workers and businesses at Port Talbot. She added that over 50 local companies have signed a pledge to her, agreeing to support any workers forced to leave their jobs at Tata Steel.
Tata Steel UK has about 8,000 workers. Out of these, 4,000 are in the Port Talbot site. The last Conservative government promised Tata Steel £500 million to assist in financing a $1.25 billion new electric furnace- to be built from August 2025-substitute to burning scrap steel, which would employ much fewer workers compared to the normal blast furnaces.
The chief executive of Tata Steel UK, Rajesh Nair, said that the announcement is welcomed. The transition board is meant to assure that the support actually goes not only to the employees of Tata Steel but also to local companies operating within the supply chain. He went further to say that efforts made by the board in assisting the region and local communities in growing in line with the changing needs of the industrial ecosystem within South Wales are truly commendable.
Meanwhile, the unions also welcomed the announcement saying it would run parallel with their efforts to find another way that would never result in compulsory redundancy. Alun Davies said: “We welcome the rapid release of the funds, but let’s be absolutely clear that we believe no-one should be compelled to lose their job.”.
The GMB union’s Charlotte Brumpton-Childs also said what the transition board had done was welcome, saying it signaled that the government should, at all times, stay ready and with the ability to offer quick and targeted support to the industry. Meanwhile Unite’s regional secretary for Wales, Peter Hughes, said his union would continue fighting for workers in ongoing discussions with both Tata and the government.
But some remain unsatisfied by the proposed outline. Luke Fletcher, spokesman on economy and energy for Plaid Cymru, urged the government in Westminster to “fight tooth and claw” on behalf of steelworkers at talks and to keep all options open, including nationalization of the UK operation of Tata, in securing the plant’s future.
All this is milling pressure onto the new UK government to make good on its promises by finding the way that saves most of the jobs, yet heads towards greener steel production. Time is running out for it to come up with a plan that balances the needs of the workers and the local community with a just transition. HEADS: One of the blast furnaces is already closed and the other in line for September.
