{"id":9782,"date":"2016-09-13T10:56:12","date_gmt":"2016-09-13T09:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=9782"},"modified":"2016-09-15T13:32:48","modified_gmt":"2016-09-15T12:32:48","slug":"time-for-action","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=9782","title":{"rendered":"Time for action"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n

Steelworkers, members of Unite and other steel unions, received a rousing round of applause yesterday\u00c2\u00a0(September 12) at the TUC conference after a composite, which highlighted the trade union movement\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s continued fight to save the steel industry, was overwhelmingly carried.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Addressing conference in support of the composite, Mark \u00e2\u20ac\u0098Pasty\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Turner, Unite branch secretary for the massive Port Talbot steel works, lambasted the Tory government for lacking the\u00e2\u20ac\u0098 courage to act\u00e2\u20ac\u2122, warning that steelworkers \u00e2\u20ac\u0098would not accept a crisis caused by government cowardice.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Calling for a proper industrial strategy, Mark Turner demanded the government gives \u00e2\u20ac\u0098cast iron\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 commitments that UK steel will be at the heart of government supported infrastructure and construction projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

He said that the crisis in the steel industry hasn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t been caused by \u00e2\u20ac\u015black of demand or by some unnamed mysterious \u00e2\u20ac\u0098market forces\u00e2\u20ac\u2122.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has been caused by a Tory government which lacks the courage to act.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Praising steel unions for bringing pressure to bear on the government, he went on to say, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt has been the steel unions who have made all the running \u00e2\u20ac\u201c demanding the setting up of the Steel Council, organising the rallies and forcing the government to promise to take a public stake in the UK steel industry if necessary.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Turning to the Prime Minister, Mark Turner said, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bJust last week Theresa May had the chance to tackle the crisis head on and challenge the Chinese President on his country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s illegal steel dumping.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bShe could have demanded that China halts the illegal offloading of cheap, poor grade steel before the UK would ever support the country\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s bid to achieve what it wants \u00e2\u20ac\u201c \u00e2\u20ac\u0098market status.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 But she bottled it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt is clear that today China fails every one of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0098six tests\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 needed to achieve \u00e2\u20ac\u0098market status.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 China\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s currency is not convertible; wages are not determined by free collective bargaining by independent trade unions; foreign companies and joint ventures remain banned.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bChina\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s steel industry remains controlled by a regime which actively operates to undermine its trading partners. That\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s their strategy, but what did she say? Nothing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Demanding that the government commit to a long-term active industrial strategy to support steel and manufacturing, Mark Turner concluded, \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need a strategy which is active, which is long-term and offers genuine support for our steel industry and manufacturing base which doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t include giving cheap multi-million pound loans to Russian steel firms.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThis must include a firm commitment that UK steel will be at the heart of major new government supported infrastructure and construction projects.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThat is what a proper industrial strategy must look like,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted.\u00c2\u00a0 \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe will not accept a crisis caused by government cowardice, we will not accept a strategy of managed decline.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

‘Fantastic’ support<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Following a standing ovation in the Brighton conference hall, UNITElive caught up with steelworkers who were heartened by the movement\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s wholehearted commitment to saving their industry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Shotton works branch chair Anthony Simpson said the support at conference was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bfantastic\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 and Unite Port Talbot works member Kate Jauncey agreed \u00e2\u20ac\u201d \u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt was amazing,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Simpson noted that the fight must continue and that, more than anything, what was needed was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bmore engagement from across all unions in all sectors, not just steel unions \u00e2\u20ac\u201d that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s key.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe also need a lot more positive activity from the government, but that can only happen if we as a united trade union movement force it,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Jauncey said that she was encouraged by prime minister Theresa May\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s talk of an industrial strategy, but she welcomed it only cautiously.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a positive sign but again, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s the same thing we said with the last government \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s action we need not just warm words. The government is still in the situation of just talking and there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not been a lot of doing.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Unite Tata steelworker from Rotherham Andy Thomson said he was \u00e2\u20ac\u015bvery impressed\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 by trade unions\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 support of his industry\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s cause.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIt a really reassuring feeling to get this amount of support,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he noted. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bI mean we hear about it all the time, but to actually physically see so many people stood up on their feet supporting us to help us save our industry \u00e2\u20ac\u201d it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a really nice feeling.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Thomson noted that the Save Our Steel campaign being in the public eye has fallen on the wayside following the EU referendum.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need to pick up the pace again \u00e2\u20ac\u201d make it frontline news again,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bEven though the campaign has quieted down in the media, we still have the same issues and the urgency is still the same.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Despite the many challenges steelworkers face as the government continues to drag its feet, Mark Turner told UNITElive that he still maintains a tremendous amount of hope.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00e2\u20ac\u015bWhat gives me the most hope is the central importance of the steel industry itself,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bWe need a steel industry in this country \u00e2\u20ac\u201d we cannot function without it. At some point, someone in charge will wake up and grab the issue and say, \u00e2\u20ac\u0098we cannot allow this industry to fall\u00e2\u20ac\u2122. Everyone says it and everyone knows it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s true; the time for serious action has come.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n