One in six British steelworkers face losing their jobs, warns TUC
20 Oct 2015 09:47 AM
The TUC warned yesterday (Monday 19th October 2015) that one in six (5,200) UK steelworkers now face the prospect of losing their jobs.
Responding to the news that steel firm Caparo are to make 1,800 redundancies, on top the 1,200 being made at TATA and 2,220 at SSI, TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:
“One in six UK steelworkers face losing their jobs. At this rate there won’t be a British steel industry in a year’s time.
“Ministers cannot afford to stand on the sidelines and watch this crisis unfold. They must step in now with a rescue package.
“From solar to steel, the government’s lack of industrial strategy is costing the UK dear.
“If David Cameron and George Osborne don’t up their game, more firms will go to the wall. They must provide emergency financial support in next month’s Spending Review. And they must urgently raise with the Chinese President the devastating impact Chinese steel dumping is having on British manufacturers.”
NOTES TO EDITORS:
- UK Steel estimates that there are 30,000 people employed by the UK steel industry. SSI in Redcar has announced that 2,200 jobs will be lost when the plant closes. Tata Steel are due to confirm tomorrow that 1,200 jobs will be lost from sites in England and Scotland. With Caparo set to announce that 1,800 jobs are to go, this brings the total to 5,200.
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