Secure our industry and futures

Steelworkers will descend on Parliament tomorrow (October 28) to lobby their MPs to save our steel industry.

 

The workers from steel communities in Teesside, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and south Wales will meet with MPs ahead of the opposition day debate.

 

“The message from steelworkers and their communities to the government is clear,” said Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary.

 

“Step in and support the industry to save our steel before it’s too late,” he added.

 

The opposition debate follows a series of announcements which have rocked the UK steel industry over the last few weeks.

 

“We have already seen the consequences of the governments’ failure to act on Teesside,” said Tony.

 

“Instead of intervening to keep the coke ovens burning at Redcar, ministers sat on their hands and allowed a key industrial asset to close forever takin g with it the livelihoods of thousands of people,” added Tony.

 

Following on from the recent closure of the Redcar steel mill with 2,200 job losses, Tata Steel UK last week confirmed plans to shed 1,100 jobs at sites in Scunthorpe and Scotland.

 

Last week also saw steel processing giant Caparo Industries go into administration threatening 1,700 jobs.

 

“The approach by ministers so far has been to deal with the symptoms of the steel crisis. When what steel and manufacturing communities want is action that secures UK steel making and secures their futures,” said Tony.

 

Unite is calling on the government to support a key component of the UK economy by taking action to stop the ‘dumping’ of cheap Chinese steel, help with high energy costs and business rates as well as ensuring that major infrastructure projects in the UK use British steel.

 

“How many more jobs need to go and how many more communities will be devastated before the government acts?” said Tony.

 

“We urge MPs to send a strong message to the government on behalf of tens of thousands of steelworkers and their families and back action to support their jobs and the UK’s steel industry,” he added.