Unite calls off Port Talbot strike
By Iain Gilbert
Date: Monday 01 Jul 2024
(Sharecast News) - Works union Unite has called off a strike planned for 8 July in order to allow enter further discussions regarding the future of Britain's largest steel works at Port Talbot, Wales.
Plant operator Tata previously threatened to bring forward the planned closure of both remaining blast furnaces the day before the strike, pointing to safety concerns due to a staff walkout.
Other unions feared that Unite's strike would speed up the closure of blast furnace number four, which was not scheduled to be shuttered for another three month, which both the Community and GMB unions remained hopeful would give them time to for further negotiations to extend the life of the remaining furnace.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham stated the talks were "essential" and said: "Workers were simply not prepared to stand idly by while steel making ended and their communities were laid to waste."
Graham also noted that the focus should be on fresh investment and the continuation of long-term steel making in the region.
On Thursday Tata said it would close both furnaces within days unless they could be operated "safely and stably" during the strike. It also wrote to all three unions, offering to commence fresh negotiations if the strike was called off.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
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