{"id":6511,"date":"2015-10-28T17:22:48","date_gmt":"2015-10-28T17:22:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=6511"},"modified":"2015-10-29T15:51:32","modified_gmt":"2015-10-29T15:51:32","slug":"as-long-as-it-takes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=6511","title":{"rendered":"As long as it takes"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As the UK steel industry is set to crumble under the weight of the Tory government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s negligence, steelworkers and their communities, trade unions and Labour MPs have launched an all-out offensive to save the bedrock of the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manufacturing economy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Dozens of workers from steel communities in Teesside, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and south Wales travelled to Parliament today (October 28) to meet with Labour MPs ahead of an opposition day debate on the future of UK steel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The debate has been called following a spate of job losses in the past month alone \u00e2\u20ac\u201c first with the Redcar steel mill closure that shed 2,200 jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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 threating 1,700 jobs.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell told the steelworkers before the debate that MPs would continue to pressure the government to step in and save the industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and they would not let up until they took action.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Name and shame<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bLike we did with tax credits, if we name them and shame them and put enough pressure on them, they can<\/em> do U-turns,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed; they know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McDonnell added, using the examples of German and Italian governments which have successfully supported their respective steel industries.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Beyond emergency action needed now to stop the mounting job losses, McDonnell highlighted the importance of a long-term strategy.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got to talk again about our long-term plan \u00e2\u20ac\u201c about new technologies as well,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. Not just that we can be competitive, but our investment plan should go like this \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we invest in modernising the steel industry but we do that because we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to invest in modernising our infrastructure.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t modernise your infrastructure if you\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re dependent on a large amount of imports from elsewhere,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McDonnell added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll always be dependent on that external market. We have to build up our internal market to use public procurement as we modernise our economy. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simple really. This is not rocket science. All that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s needed is a government that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s willing to help.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAnd I promise this campaign will be with you 100 per cent,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told the steelworkers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Urgency <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Unite convenor Kevin Cook from Redcar told UNITElive about the urgency of the situation for his community.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSomething needs to be done rapidly,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe speed of the closure of the SSI plant was phenomenal \u00e2\u20ac\u201c really, really brutal.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt closed in a matter of days. It went from a fully functioning plant producing quality steel \u00e2\u20ac\u201c we were breaking records, making more than we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d ever done before. And we just shut virtually overnight.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Cook explained that beyond the thousands of direct jobs being lost in Redcar, there are many thousands more at risk in the supply chain as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe figure being bandied about now is more than 9,000,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve already got the highest unemployment in the country \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to be really, really bad time.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite convenor Tony Pearson works at the Tata Beam Mill in Teesside, which is a shared site with SSI. He recalled when he first started working in steel as an apprentice nearly 40 years ago.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe were told we had a job for life, and there would be jobs for our children and our children\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s children,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere were more than 20,000 people working in steel in Teesside when I started, now that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been reduced to 1,200 people in the Tees valley.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Pearson balked at the idea that steelworkers can simply find other jobs \u00e2\u20ac\u201c an idea most recently put forward by Lord Heseltine<\/a>, who said of steel job losses that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bnow was a good time to lose your job\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 because of \u00e2\u20ac\u015bthe number of new jobs in the economy today.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere are no alternatives,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Pearson said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn the 1980s when we started our service industry, we were promised the brave new world of call centre jobs. So that picked up some of the job losses from the steel sector then. Then what we saw was that those jobs were being outsourced outside of the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSo then they had retail parks built to provide service jobs in retail,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Pearson added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBut these are jobs that pay minimum wage or not much more. If you haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t got the high skill jobs with higher wages, you can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t sustain the sector. Service industry jobs aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t going to support the service industry. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s simply not sustainable.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite member Kate Jauncey, who works as an engineer for Tata Steel in Port Talbot, fears that her steel community in Wales will be next on the chopping block if the government doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t step in.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve come to support my colleagues who are under immediate threat,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI think we need to force the government into doing something. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a very important industry and I really don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t think that [the government] gets that.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey only seem to be interested in moving money around; they don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t seem to be interested in people making things anymore. And that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s what made this country great.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite rep Paul Maddison (pictured), who works for Tata Steel in Scunthorpe, described the fear that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s rippling throughout his community \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a fear that his family is just now coming to grips with.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m married with a young family and a mortgage,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Maddison \u00e2\u20ac\u201c father of three children aged 2, 5 and 7 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"paul<\/a>

Unite rep and Tata Steel worker Paul Maddison<\/p><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Lose our house\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 fear <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bNone of us know what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s going to happen. I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned about my job, my wife\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s concerned about her job since she works in the local community and we fear we could lose our house.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWill we be able to find other jobs? Will I have to work away from my family? All things like that \u00e2\u20ac\u201cit\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the day-to-day world that me and my colleagues live in fear of.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But Maddison pointed out that the crisis goes beyond the current haemorrhaging of jobs in specific communities \u00e2\u20ac\u201c steel is an industry that the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s economy cannot afford to do without.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bYou only have to look around this room or look around the city to realise that almost everything has got steel in it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bOnce that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s gone, we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be cap-in-hand to China, to India \u00e2\u20ac\u201c and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll be able to put up the price of steel anytime they want. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to be beholden to other people to supply us with what we can make.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As bad as the crisis facing the steel industry is now, as job loss shockwaves rock the nation in a matter of weeks, Maddison believes there is still hope.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t know whether [changes] will happen today \u00e2\u20ac\u201c but it will be interesting to see if after [the debate] today we can see a glimmer of hope that will put us back on the right path,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bI was very impressed by how passionate the MPs speaking today were, and that will be something I can take back to my colleagues in Scunthorpe \u00e2\u20ac\u201c I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen it first hand, that they are working for us and fighting our corner.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite national officer Harish Patel told UNITElive that continued pressure now was absolutely critical.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bAs far as I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m concerned this campaign has only just started,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis crisis affects not only our members, not only the steel industry but also the entire supply chain, and so other industries and our entire manufacturing base is at risk as well.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an integral part of our British heritage \u00e2\u20ac\u201c this is what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s at stake. We\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re going to continue to pressure the government for as long as it takes.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Motion is lost<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

But as we publish this we can sadly report that Labour’s motion, which called for the government to support the\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>steel\u00c2\u00a0industry\u00c2\u00a0was defeated by 307 votes to 280 – majority 27.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

A Conservative amendment, in which it stated MPs note their concern and agree all parties should work together to help the industry, was approved unopposed.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Tories had the chance today to send the clearest signal possible that they supported the steel industry,” said a disappointed Tony Burke, Unite assistant general secretary.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“They did not have to vote against the Labour amendment.\u00c2\u00a0 What a sad end to today\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s debate and for the steelworkers today who go back to their communities after a day fighting for this vital industry, they will do so with a heavy heart.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will continue to do everything we can to make the case for a better deal from this government for this core sector.\u00c2\u00a0 Today is not the end of this fight, not by any means.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Burke added, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI sincerely hope that the Conservative think again about hailing themselves as the party of the working people as this is now causing anger among actual working people.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Watch the full opposition day debate on steel here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sign the Save our Steel petition <\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the UK steel industry is set to crumble under the weight of the Tory government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s negligence, steelworkers and their communities, trade unions and Labour MPs have launched an all-out offensive to save the bedrock of the nation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s manufacturing economy.   Dozens of workers from steel communities in Teesside, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, the West Midlands and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6514,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[430,269],"wps_subtitle":"Unite vows to fight on","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6511"}],"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=6511"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6521,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6511\/revisions\/6521"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6511"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}