National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee statement on Liberty Steel

Responding to the news that Liberty Steel Group intends to sell Stocksbridge and its downstream plants, the narrow strip mill at Brinsworth and Performance Steels at West Bromwich, a spokesperson for the National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee, said:

“Stocksbridge and it’s downstream plants are strategically important businesses vital to our country’s defence, energy and aerospace sectors. The future for these businesses must be secured and the trade unions will hold Sanjeev Gupta to his promise that none of our steel plants will close on his watch.

Liberty must act as a responsible seller and run a transparent sales process which fully engages the trade unions. We will expect to meet any potential buyer to scrutinise their plans and test their commitment to the workforce and our industry.

Whilst we are encouraged that Liberty and Credit Suisse appear to be making progress on the refinancing we urgently need a solution to inject cash into the UK.”

Notes:

1. 1. The National Trade Union Steel Coordinating Committee includes national representatives from the steel trade unions: Community, Unite and GMB.

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.