Tata Steel announced abruptly that it would cease operation of coke ovens in its Port Talbot facility in South Wales. This move was condemned as a “massive strike” by a union.
Steelmaker Tata said that it made the decision due to a “deterioration in operational stability”. About 200 workers will be affected by the move, but its immediate impact is still uncertain.
The announcement came months sooner than expected, according to unions. Alun Davies said that the Community’s national steel officer, Alun Davies: “The closure of the coke-ovens early is a huge blow, but we knew that they had been deteriorating, and our number one concern is the safety our members.”
Unite has called for a strike over Tata’s proposals. Peter Hughes, its regional secretary for Wales said that Tata should halt their plans and wait until Labour delivers the £3bn promised to revive the UK steel industry.
The time to fight is now. That is why we urge Tata workers to vote YES to strike action.
Tata Steel announced in January that it would close its two British blast furnaces by the end this year. This is part of its plan to turn its UK steelmaking company around by switching to electric arc furnaces with lower carbon content.
Coke ovens, also known as coke manufacturing plants, are used to heat coal in order to produce a solid residue called coke. This fuel has a high carbon content with few impurities and is an important raw material for steelmaking. The ovens were due to be closed by June.
Charlotte Brumpton Childs, GMB’s national officer, stated: “We were informed that the Port Talbot coke ovens were in a state of disrepair. This was more likely to be the reason for their closure than decarbonisation.
We were not informed before the announcement of the impending closure that we had entered a critical point where there was no turning back. GMB had hoped that the consultation process would be completed before any final decisions were taken.
Rajesh Nir, the Tata Steel CEO, stated: “Despite the herculean effort of the teams, the performance of the coal ovens has been declining for many months.”
Davies said: “Tata knows the unions won’t accept any mandatory redundancies, and we are working on concluding negotiations on a enhanced redundancy package and retention package.”
Tata has said that it will increase its coke imports to compensate for this closure and continue operating the blast furnaces for the moment.
Tata confirmed the 2,800 job cuts associated with the closure of two blast furnaces, which took place in January. The company said that it was “feasible and affordable” not to accept trade union proposals for the continuation of production at the plant, which is losing money, during the transition to greener and cheaper steelmaking operations.
After restructuring, the steelmaker plans to switch to low-carbon electric arc furnaces. This proposal is backed by £500m of UK government money. The steelmaker will switch to electric arcs furnaces with low carbon emissions after restructuring. This proposal is backed up by £500m in UK government money.
Port Talbot’s job cuts have raised considerable political concern over their impact on the South Wales economy. TV Narendran, Tata Steel’s global chief executive , defended the decision before MPs in January, saying that the steelworks lost £160m the previous quarter.