News & views

Community welcomes Sheerness steelworks reopening

Steel company Liberty House have today announced their intention to reopen the steelworks at Sheerness which has been closed for more than four years. Community represented the workforce there before the closure and have continued to campaign with the local community for the return of steel to Sheerness.

Liberty plan to restart the 750,000 tonne a year steelworks by mid-2017 and Community will be seeking to work closely with the company and former employees to ensure that good quality steel jobs return to the local community.

Responding to the announcement, Roy Rickhuss, General Secretary of Community said:

“In the midst of the steel crisis, this decision by Liberty House is encouraging news for our industry. This announcement is a credit to the resilience and hard work of our members in Sheerness who have fought for years, often with little prospect of success, to bring the steel industry back to their local community.

“Community has represented steelworkers in Sheerness for decades and it was a sad day when production ended four years ago. We will be working closely with Liberty House to bring back the good quality steel jobs that were lost.

“The UK steel industry still faces significant challenges and it is vital that local and national government  provide all necessary support in helping bring this steelworks back to life.”

Ends.

Notes

1. Community was the union that previously represented workers at Sheerness and continues to represent many of those formerly employed at the steelworks.
2. Community led a national campaign in 2012 to try and save Sheerness steelworks from closure and continues to campaign for the future of the whole UK steel industry.
3. For more information, contact Callum Munro on cmunro@community-tu.org / 07821250904.