Unite steelworkers suspend Tata protest

A planned strike by workers at steel giant Tata over job losses has been suspended.

Members of the Unite trade union have taken industrial action, including banning overtime work, and are planning a general strike from next Monday.

The union is embroiled in a dispute with the company over plans to close two blast furnaces at its plant in Port Talbot, south Wales, and switch to a greener method of producing steel that requires fewer workers.

The union said the current protest action and the strike planned for next week have been suspended.

Community and GMB unions are also calling on Tata to change its plans but are not calling for industrial action.

Alun Davies, national officer for communities, said: “With thousands of jobs at stake, we welcome Unite’s decision to withdraw its strike action and return to the table with its sister steel unions.

“Tata has confirmed that if the strike is called off, it is prepared to resume talks on a potential MOU (memorandum of understanding) through the Multi-Union Steel Committee, which is chaired by Community.

“The truth is that Tata never backed down from these discussions and at our last meeting on May 22, all unions agreed to end negotiations and report the results to our members.

“The community would welcome the resumption of these discussions, but we regret that no progress has been made since May 22.”

The first blast furnace will be shut down on Thursday and the second one at the end of September.