Date: 4th December
Tata Corus decision to Mothball ‘premature and devastating’ says Community Union
Tata Corus’ – the Indian owned UK steel giant – shock decision to mothball Teesside Cast Products (TCP) is a premature decision that will have disastrous consequences for Teesside and the UK economy says Community Union.
The decision to mothball TCP puts 1700 jobs at risk and threatens the manufacturing base of the North East. Corus have decided to continue operations at Redcar wharf and have issued a partial reprieve for the Redcar Coke Ovens dependent on internal orders.
Community Union General Secretary Michael J. Leahy OBE said:
‘Tata Corus are making a premature decision to close TCP despite having orders on the book to the end of the year. There is still time to save TCP as a going concern and Tata Corus have a moral and social obligation to Teesside steelworkers who have moved heaven and earth to rescue TCP and save their jobs.
‘Community Union are calling on Tata Corus to reverse this decision and continue to support the workforce on Teesside. Community will leave no stone unturned to find a solution which will secure the future of steelmaking on Teesside.
‘To that end, we are seeking urgent talks with the Government to discuss what assistance they can provide to preserve the steelmaking infrastructure of Teesside and prevent a community being devastated.’
Date: 9th December
Corus European Works Council Supports TCP
The Corus European Works Council has issued the following statement of support:
“The Corus European Works Council opposes the decision by Tata Corus to close Teesside Cast Products and believes that the decision is premature. It is felt that Tata Corus is rushing to put thousands of people out of work. The EWC supports the Teesside workers in their campaign to keep the plant in production.
The company decision was communicated to the press before all the appropriate employee representatives were fully informed – ignoring established information and consultation practices, which is an issue of grave concern to employees across Europe. The lack of proper communication is an increasing trend across the company in Europe.
There are many outstanding questions about the decision to close TCP. So far Tata Corus has failed to answer why it did not actively pursue potential buyers either of the slab product or TCP itself, who, it is understood, were still interested right up until the announcement was made.
Opportunities to sell or lease the land to provide some income to TCP were also available and local politicians had offered assistance in securing further government support for TCP. It is understood Tata Corus did not wish to explore these other options but there has been no explanation why they would not examine everything to keep TCP as a going concern.
It is simply unacceptable that Tata Corus blames the consortium of offtakers for this precipitative decision.
The EWC questions Tata’s claim to be a socially and morally responsible employer as it is abandoning the Teesside steel community and their families and calls on Tata Corus to reconsider its decision.”
Roy Rickhuss, National Officer for Community, also attending the EWC meeting, said:
“We welcome the support from our European colleagues. There is a strong depth of feeling among Corus workers all over Europe about this decision by Corus, which will devastate an entire community on Teesside.”