OVER 2,000 workers at Tata Steel's sites in south Wales have applied for voluntary redundancy as part of the company's plan to cut 2,800 jobs across the country.
Most of these applications come from the Port Talbot plant, where Tata Steel is set to shut down its second blast furnace by the end of September, reported the BBC.
Tata Steel UK has started evaluating which roles can be closed based on the employees' interest in voluntary redundancy. The first group of workers to accept redundancy is expected to leave the company within weeks.
According to Tata Steel, this redundancy package is their best offer yet, providing 2.8 weeks of salary for each year of service, capped at 25 years. Additionally, employees will receive a minimum guaranteed payment of £15,000, along with a £5,000 bonus tied to attendance.
The three unions representing the workers—Community, Unite, and the GMB—have agreed to ballot their members on whether to accept Tata Steel's redundancy offer. The vote is expected to take place soon, and union sources believe it will receive broad support from the workforce following months of discussions.
The job cuts at Tata Steel will be implemented in stages, with around 2,500 roles under threat this year. Of these, about 300 to 400 jobs may face compulsory redundancy.
However, the actual number could change as the company and unions review voluntary redundancy applications and attempt to redeploy at-risk employees to other roles within the business.
An additional 300 jobs will be cut at Llanwern near Newport over the next three years, but formal redundancy notices have not yet been issued for this group.
The company plans to transition from traditional steelmaking to greener technologies. On 28 September, Tata Steel will shut down the second of its two blast furnaces at Port Talbot, ending steel production from iron ore in south Wales.
The company is investing £1.25 billion in an electric arc furnace that will produce steel by melting scrap metal, a move aimed at reducing carbon emissions by at least five million tonnes annually.
A Tata spokesperson said: “We are currently working through how people’s aspirations may align with the future organisational structure requirements.
“Whilst we have made great efforts to put together an employee support package that will help many of those people affected to transition out of the business, it is also vital that we retain our core knowledge, skill base and experience through this most challenging of times.”
According to reports, the company is working closely with the government to finalise discussions on £500 million in funding to support transition to more sustainable steelmaking methods.
Additionally, the Labour Party has pledged £2.5bn towards the future of UK steel production. Unions are urging the government to allocate some of this funding to further investments in south Wales, such as adding a plate mill to the Port Talbot site to produce steel plates for offshore wind turbines.
The company expressed its commitment to working with unions to agree on restructuring plans and the move to greener steel production, hoping to present these plans to union members soon.
Thangam Debbonaire (Pic from Wikimedia Commons)
Richard Townshend
