{"id":8291,"date":"2016-04-05T12:20:06","date_gmt":"2016-04-05T11:20:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=8291"},"modified":"2016-04-05T12:20:06","modified_gmt":"2016-04-05T11:20:06","slug":"failed-to-get-to-grips-with-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=8291","title":{"rendered":"\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Failed to get to grips with crisis\u00e2\u20ac\u2122"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n

Labour has proposed a \u00c2\u014135bn plan to save Port Talbot steel works and the rest of the British steel industry by bringing forward work on HS2 and 500 other rail, airport and road projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More than 40,000 jobs are under threat, 4,300 of them in Port Talbot, after India-based steel giant Tata announced that it will sell all of its UK businesses \u00e2\u20ac\u201c because of high running costs and the swamping of the market by cut price Chinese imports.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

John McDonnell, Labour\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s shadow chancellor, has put forward a four point plan to use British steel on national infrastructure schemes after continued Tory inaction and ineptitude left the industry, and the communities that depend on it, standing on the edge of a cliff.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McDonnell said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Tories are in total disarray and have failed to get to grips with the steel crisis.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bSteelworkers and the industry can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t afford to wait for them to get their act together, so Labour is getting the ball rolling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u0098Shovel-ready\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 projects\u00c2\u00a0 <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government has \u00c2\u014135bn of shovel-ready projects. This is not new money \u00e2\u20ac\u201c just money standing still. Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s get it moving.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The shadow chancellor made clear that state ownership should not be excluded for the Port Talbot plant, or other UK steelworks. As well as fast-tracking key infrastructure projects, Labour demanded a level playing field for British steel by reducing the industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s crippling business rates and energy prices.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Labour would also work with employees, management and customers to implement a strategy to stabilise and safeguard the industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s long-term future and provide security for steelworkers.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

McDonnell said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis plan is a good starting place for a framework by which we can hopefully get cross-party agreement to find a solution to stabilise the industry and secure the workforce.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The Liberty Group has expressed interest in buying the Port Talbot site, however owner Sanjeev Gupta said it was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bcomplicated deal\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and admitted that Port Talbot\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s blast furnace operations, which make up the bulk of employment, would be difficult to turn around.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Gupta\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s comments come after a week of speculation on the industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future, after business secretary Sajid Javid admitted being caught by surprise when Tata announced the closures last week. Since then he has failed to offer any viable solution to the crisis and has only just made plans to travel to India to consult with Tata\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bosses.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

End of the industry? <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile Britain\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s second largest steel manufacturer, Celsa UK, said that if the government fails to resolve the situation it could mean the end of the industry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Celsa\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s managing director, Luis Sanz, told the Guardian <\/em>that \u00e2\u20ac\u015bin other European countries they saw these problems coming and acted in advance.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

His sentiments were echoed by the unions who, after meeting yesterday to lay out a plan for the government to save the industry which included measures to keep Port Talbot’s blast furnaces open through investment in low carbon technologies, declared the Conservative\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s response a \u00e2\u20ac\u015bdisaster\u00e2\u20ac\u0165.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite assistant general secretary, Tony Burke, called on Prime Minister David Cameron to take over management of the crisis from Javid.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is clear that last week the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s eye wasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t on the ball. It was a disaster. We have got to get the Prime Minister to intervene. There were more questions than answers last week. Now we are looking for answers to the questions.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis government has had no industrial or manufacturing strategy from day one. They must now secure the plants, the jobs and steel\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s future.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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

Labour has proposed a \u00c2\u014135bn plan to save Port Talbot steel works and the rest of the British steel industry by bringing forward work on HS2 and 500 other rail, airport and road projects.   More than 40,000 jobs are under threat, 4,300 of them in Port Talbot, after India-based steel giant Tata announced that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8122,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[503,430,269],"wps_subtitle":"Labour hits back with \u00e2\u20ac\u015b\u00c2\u014135bn steel-saving plan\"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291"}],"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=8291"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8292,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8291\/revisions\/8292"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8122"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8291"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8291"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8291"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}