Today, steelworkers from Tata Steel UK, British Steel, Liberty Steel, Celsa Steel and Outokumpu will march on No. 10 Downing Street to deliver a petition to the Prime Minister. They will be led by Community’s General Secretary Roy Rickhuss, and march against a backdrop of worrying times for the industry after months of silence from the government.
Roy Rickhuss CBE, General Secretary of the steelworkers’ union, Community, said:
“The steel industry is approaching a cliff edge. Soaring energy prices and cheap steel being dumped on our shores have put our industry in jeopardy.”
“Britain needs a strong steel industry for a prosperous and resilient economy, to deliver net zero, for our national security, and to safeguard high quality jobs in places that really need them.
“The Government must step up. Their continued lack of support is killing our industry and time is running out. If they don’t act now, we’ll lose our industry forever.”
“Thousands of people have signed this petition in support of Government action to protect our industry. With the public behind us, the Government cannot ignore us.”
Mark Davies, Port Talbot steelworker and Chair of the union’s national steel sector committee, said:
“Our industry supports tens of thousands of good jobs and steel communities across Britain. If this government is serious about levelling-up then they should start by backing our steel industry.
“Without government action our jobs are on the line and plant closures would be absolutely devastating. That’s why we’re going to Downing Street to send a message to the Prime Minister. We’re going to fight for our industry because at stake are our jobs and our communities, our way of life and our future.”
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