{"id":8241,"date":"2016-03-30T16:24:22","date_gmt":"2016-03-30T15:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8241"},"modified":"2016-03-31T11:09:41","modified_gmt":"2016-03-31T10:09:41","slug":"now-or-never","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8241","title":{"rendered":"Now or never"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

On one of the darkest days for British steel communities, when Tata Steel announced last night (March 29) its intention to sell all of its UK assets, putting up to 19,000 jobs at risk in the process, business secretary Savid Javid was a world away in Australia.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Not one government minister attended Tata\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crunch board meeting in Mumbai where board members decided the future of the UK\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s largest steelworks in Port Talbot, which employs 4,000 people.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Tata Steel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s decision to sell the Port Talbot steelworks sent shockwaves throughout the Welsh steel community and across the UK, after the company\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s board rejected a rescue plan that would help turn the loss-making site into a profitable one in two years\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 time.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The government has endlessly dragged its feet since the steel crisis began more than a year ago, as it refused to take action that was well within its reach \u00e2\u20ac\u201c in the process the steelworks in Redcar, along with thousands of jobs, was sacrificed at the altar of government carelessness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Now, the stakes are even higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c what the government does next will be the make-or-break moment for the entire steel industry in the UK.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Finding a new buyer urgently for the ailing steelworks in Port Talbot, which is now losing money to the tune of \u00c2\u01411m a day, will be all put impossible without urgent government intervention.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite has called on the government to re-nationalise steel now.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis is the time for the government to say categorically, without hesitation, that these assets will be taken into safe-keeping by the nation because without them our economy will not flourish,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Unite general secretary Len McCluskey. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are already seeing jobs going in the supply chain because of the uncertainty over Tata\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future \u00e2\u20ac\u201c our fear is this will snowball if insecurity is allowed to swirl around our steel sector.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite is not the only voice calling for urgent government intervention either \u00e2\u20ac\u201c industry groups, the business community, economists as well as Labour have all argued that it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s \u00e2\u20ac\u0098now or never\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 for British steel.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) argued that the government cannot allow such a vital industry to fail.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe loss of steelmaking would leave the UK vulnerable to global shocks, with dangerous consequences across the economy,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 BCC acting director general Dr Adam Marshall noted.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe mistakes made in the nuclear industry decades ago must not be repeated in the steel industry today,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThere is a clear case for further government action to protect British steelmaking capacity, as it underpins so much of British manufacturing and construction. Our global competitors would not hesitate on an issue like this.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Recall plea<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

As news hit that Tata Steel would be selling its UK business including the steelworks in Port Talbot, the Labour Party has issued a clarion call for an urgent recall of Parliament.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMPs must have the chance now to debate the future of steel and hold ministers to account for their failure to intervene,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 said Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn in a letter to prime minister David Cameron today (March 30).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSteelworkers and their families will be desperately worried about the uncertainty,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government is in disarray over what action to take. Ministers must act now to protect the steel industry, which is at the heart of manufacturing in Britain and vital to its future.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is essential that the government intervenes to maintain steel production in Port Talbot, both for the workforce and the wider economy, if necessary by taking a public stake in the industry.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Amid calls for urgent government action, business minister Anna Soubry said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are, and have and continue to look at all options and I do mean all options.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This has ostensibly included replicating a model that Scotland just recently employed to save two steel sites from closure in Lanarkshire.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Last week, the Scottish government facilitated the sale of the Clydebridge and Dalzell plants from Tata Steel to metals group Liberty House by buying the plants itself and then immediately selling to Liberty.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

This \u00e2\u20ac\u0098back-to-back\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 deal helped avoid the lengthy due diligence process that must take place between two companies during a sale.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Len McCluskey welcomed this move and urged the UK government to go above and beyond to save Port Talbot and other steelworks suffering under the steel crisis \u00e2\u20ac\u201c a crisis which has been driven by an influx of cheap, unfairly priced Chinese imports in the face of global overcapacity.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe unity of voices \u00e2\u20ac\u201c from business to government \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to say that temporary nationalisation is the way forward must not be ignored,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 McCluskey said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis helped save the Scottish plants.\u00c2\u00a0 It has ensured that the Ilva plant in Italy survived \u00e2\u20ac\u201c it must be deployed for the rest of the Tata operation.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Government spokespeople have today shied away from explicitly using the term \u00e2\u20ac\u0098nationalisation\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, and experts have said that the political will for such a move may be lacking.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Business minister Soubry has already disavowed the notion that the government would aim to \u00e2\u20ac\u0098own\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 any part of the steel industry and noted that such moves may run afoul of EU state-aid rules.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey argued that taking a temporary government stake in steel in order to find a buyer was one important and perfectly legal step among a number of other measures that the government has so far failed to pursue.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Act now\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIn addition, the government must act now where the Budget stood silent,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need energy costs reduced.\u00c2\u00a0 Tariffs on cheap imports must rise to the level where they do make an impact \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the UK government could do this today.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose Aberavon constituency includes the Port Talbot plant, also hit out at the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s failure to act.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Kinnock, who attended the Tata board meeting in Mumbai, reported that Tata itself had expressed frustration that the UK government had not acted to help avoid the business decision that it now had no other choice but to take.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The MP condemned the government for blocking measures that would enable the EU to significantly hike tariffs on cheap Chinese steel imports.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe are rolling out the red carpet for Beijing,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said, pointing to the fact that the UK government is intent on securing market economic status for China, despite its steel industry being 80 per cent state-owned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThey are in hock to China,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bOur commercial policy, our approach to trade and manufacturing, and our overall industrial strategy, is being dictated by Beijing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McCluskey noted that Unite was dedicated to working with the government to save the steel industry before it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s too late.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will work with them on all serious efforts to keep our steel sector alive,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

As for the workforce itself, the mood may be grim as entire communities face economic annihilation \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the think tank IPPR estimates that 40,000 jobs are at risk along the supply chain if Tata does not secure a buyer for its assets. Even more jobs could be in danger at, for example, shop and pubs, if spending in steel communities drops as unemployment climbs, the IPPR warned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

But, as Unite Port Talbot steelworks rep Mark Turner points out, all is not yet lost.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe all remain optimistic,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bSelling the plant gives us hope. They haven\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t said they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re closing it. So we must see the positive in that.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bMy message to potential buyers is that you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t get a more committed and dedicated workforce than ours,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Turner added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEvery single one of us is proud to be a British steelworker, proud of our work and of our industry. All we want is to continue to make steel and be proud.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

While hope still remains, time is running out. Join us as we demand that Parliament be recalled to debate the steel crisis now \u00e2\u20ac\u201c contact your MP here.<\/a><\/p>\n

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

On one of the darkest days for British steel communities, when Tata Steel announced last night (March 29) its intention to sell all of its UK assets, putting up to 19,000 jobs at risk in the process, business secretary Savid Javid was a world away in Australia.   Not one government minister attended Tata\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crunch […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8242,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[430,269],"wps_subtitle":"Govt must help to save Port Talbot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8241"}],"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=8241"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8241\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8243,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8241\/revisions\/8243"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}