{"id":11845,"date":"2017-03-21T10:30:25","date_gmt":"2017-03-21T10:30:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=11845"},"modified":"2017-03-21T16:22:14","modified_gmt":"2017-03-21T16:22:14","slug":"built-for-britain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=11845","title":{"rendered":"Built for Britain"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"fb-root\"><\/div>\n<p>Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will warn the government that it risks betraying steelworkers and their industry, if it fails to guarantee the use of UK steel in major infrastructure projects such as HS2, when he meets steelworkers later today (March 21).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Speaking to Unite members at British Steel in Scunthorpe, Len McCluskey will say the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to make steel a \u00e2\u20ac\u0098low priority\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 as part of its industrial strategy was an insult to steelworkers who had battled to save their industry.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Urging government ministers to instruct, rather than issue guidance, that UK steel should be used in infrastructure and defence projects, McCluskey called on ministers to enact a policy of if \u00e2\u20ac\u0098it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s built for Britain, it should be made by Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In addition to Unite members, Len McCluskey will also be meeting with British Steel executives for an update on progress after the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s change of ownership last year.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Commenting ahead of his meetings McCluskey said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBritish Steel workers and their former colleagues at Tata Steel UK have fought tooth-and-nail to ensure steel has a future in the UK. They and their families have made great sacrifices in doing so, because they recognise the importance of steel as a key foundation industry and a source for decent jobs on which their communities rely on.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s classification of steel as a low priority in its industrial strategy displays a degree of complacency about the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steel industry, with many steelworkers viewing it as an insult,&#8221; he added.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSteel is a key foundation industry and crucial to renewal of the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s infrastructure. The UK government must make it a priority in its industrial strategy and guarantee that UK steel is used in rail projects, such as HS2, as well as other infrastructure and defence projects.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMinisters as part of public procurement need to instruct that UK steel is used, rather than relying on the present guidance, to ensure that UK industry and the UK economy benefits from major infrastructure investment.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Unite general secretary Len McCluskey will warn the government that it risks betraying steelworkers and their industry, if it fails to guarantee the use of UK steel in major infrastructure projects such as HS2, when he meets steelworkers later today (March 21). &nbsp; Speaking to Unite members at British Steel in Scunthorpe, Len McCluskey will [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4271,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[430,528,269],"wps_subtitle":"Govt: use UK steel in infrastructure projects","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11845"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11845"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11846,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11845\/revisions\/11846"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4271"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}