A march through Port Talbot defending steel jobs in February (Picture: Guy Smallman)
Steel workers suffered another blow on Wednesday as ministers announced a “new and improved deal” for Tata’s works in Port Talbot, South Wales.
Around 2,500 workers are still set to lose their jobs as Tata Steel bosses shut down the plant’s blast furnaces at the end of the month.
The Labour government’s deal hands £500 million towards the transition to “green” electric arc furnaces, while Tata will pay £750 million.
It gives a minimum voluntary redundancy payout of £15,0000 for full-time workers and a one-off “retention” payment of £5,000. A smaller number of workers—threatened with compulsory redundancy—could keep their jobs for another year if they enrol on a training programme.
Trade union members are voting on whether to accept the new memorandum of understanding with Tata.
Labour’s business secretary Jonathan Reynold, said, “This deal does what previous deals failed to do—give hope for the future of steelmaking in South Wales.” In reality, the jobs massacre is a devastating blow to Port Talbot, a steel town where the majority of jobs are at the plant or depend on it.
It hammers home that union leaders were wrong to call off strikes in July in the hope of a Labour government coming to the rescue.
Workers answered every call to protest, march and back strikes—and were up for fighting to save their jobs.
But union leaders failed to push for, or even try, a strategy that had a chance of winning. Their statements, written more in sadness than anger, say that at least Labour’s deal is better than what the Tories were offering.
A joint statement from the Community and GMB unions said, “This deal is not something to celebrate. But with the improvements the unions and the Government have negotiated it is better than the devastating plan announced by Tata and the Tories back in September 2023.”
The Community union had not called any strikes to save jobs—despite its members voting for them. Its officials gloated when Unite called off strike in July.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “The last government was quite frankly asleep at the wheel. The present crisis is a direct result of it failing to invest in the steel industry and allowing the companies involved to rundown their operations and let them fall into disrepair.
“Conservative inaction and disdain have resulted in wholly avoidable job losses.”
Unite leaders’ inaction is also to blame. Over 1,500 Unite members in Port Talbot—and the smaller Llanwern site near Newport— won a strike ballot in April.
Unite called an indefinite strike from 8 July. But its leaders crumbled in the face of Tata threats on 1 July after bosses said they would begin shutting down the blast furnaces immediately.
An all-out strike—coupled with a workers’ occupation of the site—could have forced bosses to back down and saved the jobs.
The money is there to save jobs and have a just transition to a green steel industry, but unions have to fight for it.
Source: Socialistworker.co.uk
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