The Community trade union welcomes the move, despite Unite describing Tata’s early closure as “the latest in a long line of threats that will not deter us”.
A planned strike at the Port Talbot steelworks has been suspended after Unite union said new investment had been proposed.
Unite is suspending its industrial actionit said after news Thursday that Indian conglomerate owner Tata would respond close the site early then first announced.
Talks over the weekend resulted in a “significant development” in the form of an agreement from Tata to discuss future investments and not just layoffs, the union said.
The closing date is now July 7, the day before the previously planned strike and about two months ahead of the originally announced September timeline to close the last steel-making furnace.
Up to 2,800 jobs will be lost – 2,500 in the coming year and another 300 in three years – despite a £500 million tax injection to support the plant’s transition to cheaper, greener steel production and thus reduce emissions.
The first steel blast furnace is due to close at the end of June in a bid to cut carbon emissions at what is the UK’s largest source of CO2.
The previous blast furnaces that operated on fossil fuels are to be replaced by a single electric arc furnace.
Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant is the UK’s largest emitter of carbon dioxide.
Union response
Members of Unite protested against the job losses and the impact on the local community.
The decision to close Tata early was described by Unite general secretary Sharon Graham last week as the “latest in a long line of threats that will not deter us”.
‘The strikes will continue until Tata stops his disastrous plans,” she said on Thursday. An overtime ban had been in place since June 17. But both actions have now been suspended pending further talks.
Another union representing Port Talbot steelworkers welcomed the pause in Unite’s industrial action and the fact that they were “getting back to the table with their sister steel unions”.
Alun Davies, national officer for Community (the steelworkers’ union), said Tata would resume talks if the strike was called off.
“The truth is that Tata never walked away from those discussions, and at our last meeting on May 22, all unions agreed to conclude negotiations and present the outcome to our members. The community will welcome the resumption of those discussions, but we regret that no progress has been made since May 22.”
Sky News understands the permanent closure will now take place in September, following the strike break.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said in a statement: “We have received written confirmation from Unite Union that they are immediately suspending their current action other than a strike, as well as the potential strike that was due to commence on Monday 8 July.
“As a result, and because we can now be assured that we have sufficient resources to carry out operations safely, we will continue preparations for the early stoppage of work on Blast Furnace 4 and the wider heavy section at Port Talbot , which are scheduled for this week. We’re glad we didn’t have to go down this road.
“The resumption of discussions with the UK Steel Committee will build on the position reached at the last meeting on 22 May and will focus on future investment and ambitions for the company, not on a renegotiation of our existing plan for the closure of heavy industry or the improved terms of employment support.
“The planning for the completion process of Blast Furnace 5 has now started and we expect to be able to produce the last iron by the end of this week.”