{"id":7882,"date":"2016-02-25T16:46:28","date_gmt":"2016-02-25T16:46:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=7882"},"modified":"2016-02-26T15:35:21","modified_gmt":"2016-02-26T15:35:21","slug":"dont-expect-govt-bail-out","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=7882","title":{"rendered":"Don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t expect govt bail out"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

As the steel industry cries out for government support, business secretary Savid Javid told manufacturers yesterday (February 24) that it could not expect to be bailed out like the banks were in 2008 as the financial crisis descended.<\/p>\n

 
\nSpeaking at an EEF manufacturers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 conference, Javid addressed the steel industry crisis, saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeople ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098you bailed out the banks, why not other industries?<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf banks go bust the impact there is an impact on the entire economy that every single person and business will feel,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he argued.<\/p>\n

 
\nJavid noted that banks are systemically important to the economy and it \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdoes not mean we should [bail out] every single other industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nThis was the latest in a series of mixed messages from the government about what it will do to support a steel industry in crisis.<\/p>\n

 
\nJob losses in the steel industry have now exceeded 5,000, as steel unions have taken their fight to both the UK government and the EU demanding urgent action.<\/p>\n

 
\nBut yesterday, Javid noted that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bwe have to recognise what government can do and what it can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 in regards to the steel industry. He said the problems that are now plaguing the industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c cheap Chinese imports and falling global demand \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are systemic problems that governments aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t necessarily able to solve.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bBritain will never be successful and competitive [if we bail out] industries which have systemic problems,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he told the conference.<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite assistant general secretary Tony Burke railed against Javid\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments, highlighting just how important steel is to the economy and just how little the government has done to support it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

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

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSteel is a foundation industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s built into virtually everything and is vitally important to our economy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Burke noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is an outrage that the business secretary has said he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s done all he can for the industry when other countries in Europe such as Germany are doing much, much more to support their own industries.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite steel rep from Scunthorpe Charlotte Upton agreed.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s incredibly na\u0102\u017bve of the business secretary to say that steel is not systemically important to the economy, when so many communities \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from Scunthorpe to Port Talbot to Redcar and more \u00e2\u20ac\u201c are built around the steel industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWithout steel, these communities\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 economies will entirely collapse.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMore than that, our country wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be what it is today without industry,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Upton added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur entire nation is built on industries such as steel.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nUnite Wales area branch secretary and steelworker from Port Talbot, Mark Turner, criticised the business secretary for giving the financial sector precedence over steel and other heavy industries.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat underpins banks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 wealth is industry itself,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf all our industry were to disappear the banks would be nothing.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s more, all the thousands of high-skill, high-wage jobs in the steel industry create wealth \u00e2\u20ac\u201c money in people\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s pockets means money spent in local communities that then stimulates the wider economy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhen this employment is gone, the government also loses out on millions in income tax receipts which further destabilises the economy.<\/p>\n

 
\nBurke criticised the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s relationship with banks.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government essentially handed the banks a get out of jail free card,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSince 2008, they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve continued with much of the same reckless behaviour that caused the financial crisis in the first place and the message the government has sent to the banks is, basically \u00e2\u20ac\u201c don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t worry, you can carry on as you are and we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll bail you out again.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Beholden to the City\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt just proves that this government is completely beholden to the City and services while it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s doing nothing to create an industrial strategy to support manufacturing,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a recipe for economic disaster.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nTurner explained how relying on imported steel would also be disastrous for the economy.
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf we allow our steel industry to collapse, this would mean we would become completely dependent on imported steel, which is a very dangerous move that poses a risk to our national security,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner noted.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWithout a procurement strategy \u00e2\u20ac\u201c public but also private \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s to say that at some point China and Russia and other steel exporters won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t join up to become a conglomerate and then they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d have total control over the price of steel? We would become completely beholden to them.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nWhile Unite has long criticised the government for its inaction, Javid bafflingly noted at the EEF conference that the government has \u00e2\u20ac\u015beffectively ticked off\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 all four of the five measures the steel industry and unions have asked for.<\/p>\n

 
\nThese five \u00e2\u20ac\u0098asks\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 have included reducing green levies that hike steel firms\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 energy bills; imposing higher tariffs on cheap imports from China and other countries; encouraging a procurement strategy so that all public infrastructure projects are made with British steel; and relief on emissions limits as well as tax relief.<\/p>\n

 
\nJavid argued that he had granted all five requests except changing the tax regime.<\/p>\n

 
\nUpton \u00e2\u20ac\u201c who has been at the centre of steel trade unions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Save Our Steel campaign \u00e2\u20ac\u201c said that the government has only promised to take action but steel communities have so far felt no relief.<\/p>\n

 
\nLip service<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen absolutely no evidence that the government has done what it says it will do,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bAll we\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve seen is the business secretary and the prime minister constantly paying only lip service to the action they will take.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nTurner agreed.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is absolutely untrue that the government has done all it can for steel \u00e2\u20ac\u201c only recently it blocked EU proposals to hike tariffs on Chinese steel above the 9 per cent where it currently stands,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s nowhere near where it needs to be to combat dumping of cheap steel imports.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 
\nAlthough the government has stalled on taking action, Burke remained hopeful that continued pressure would work.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s still a long way for the government to go so that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s why it is essential that we continue putting on the pressure,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said, pointing to an upcoming opposition day debate that will again bring up the actions the government must take to support the industry.<\/p>\n

 
\n\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s hard not to feel hopeless at this stage but I urge everyone to continue the fight and wait and see.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As the steel industry cries out for government support, business secretary Savid Javid told manufacturers yesterday (February 24) that it could not expect to be bailed out like the banks were in 2008 as the financial crisis descended.   Speaking at an EEF manufacturers\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 conference, Javid addressed the steel industry crisis, saying, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bPeople ask, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4256,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[430,269],"wps_subtitle":"Javid says steel not like bank crisis ","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7882"}],"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=7882"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7882\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7883,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7882\/revisions\/7883"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}