Tata workers rally for 'rethink' on blast furnace plans
Unite and GMB members are holding a protest at the Port Talbot site today
Last updated 17th Jun 2024
Tata Steel workers in Port Talbot are today holding a rally, protesting against thousands of job losses at the Port Talbot plant.
GMB and Unite members will gather to protest alongside local community groups, calling for a 'rethink' on the move towards greener steel production.
It comes as Tata announced it will continue with plans to shut off its blast furnaces in the coming months, costing thousands of jobs in South Wales, despite the Labour Party urging it to delay the decision until after the General Election.
The steelmaking giant said it is "apprehensive" reading media reports that its restructuring plans "may be put in peril due to policy differences expressed by the Conservative and Labour Parties, during the ongoing election period."
Tata says the plans are necessary, as otherwise, the future of the plant isn't "economically or environmentally" viable.
Around 1,500 Tata steelworkers based in Port Talbot and Newport Llanwern will begin working to rule as well as taking part in a continuous overtime ban from 18 June.
The industrial action will severely disrupt and delay Tata’s operations and order book.
Unions say further strike action will be scheduled if the company does not row back on its plans that could put 2800 people out of work.
The overtime ban and work to rule is the first time in 40 years that there has been industrial action in the UK steel industry.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "Tata’s workers are taking this industrial action because they know the company’s claim that jobs cannot be retained in South Wales during the transition to green steel is a lie.
"They are standing up and fighting for a better future, one in which Tata’s British business can take full advantage of the coming green steel boom and not be sacrificed to benefit its operations abroad."