Responding to British Steel’s announcement of its plan to close its coke ovens, Community’s National Officer Alun Davies said:
“British Steel’s plan to close the coke ovens could have a catastrophic impact on jobs and steel production at Scunthorpe and the UK as a whole.
“This move would see the company depending on unreliable imported coke and puts at risk our sovereign capability to produce steel in the UK for strategic infrastructure such as our rail networks.
“We will not accept redundancies and nothing is off the table when it comes to protecting our members’ jobs.
“The Government must do whatever it takes to reach a deal with British Steel that protects the loyal workforce and the future of steelmaking in this country.”
Further information
Community is the steelworkers’ union. More steelworkers are members of Community than any other union. We have a history dating back over a century, representing members and campaigning to protect Britain’s steel industry.
- 11,522 people signed the Britain, we need our steel petition. You can see the petition here.
- 33,000 people are directly employed by Britain’s steel industry.
- An additional 40,000 people work in the steel supply chain. Those jobs are reliant on the future of the industry too.
- Over 88 per cent of steelworkers are the main earner in their household.
- £6 billion is what Britain’s steel industry will be worth by 2030.
- £3 billion is the value of exports from Britain’s steel industry.
If you are a member of Community and need help or advice, please contact us at help@community-tu.org or on 0800 389 6332.
© Community Trade Union 2024