BERNAMA – Tata is to take steps to cease operations at its steel plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, United Kingdom (UK) earlier than planned because of a strike by Unite (trade union), workers have been told, according to German news agency ( dpa ). The company had been planning to shut down one of the blast furnaces by the end of June and the second one by September. However, workers at the South Wales site have been informed that Tata can no longer be assured of sufficient resources being available to ensure safe and stable operations, due to the strike by members of Unite from July 8.
A message to employees said, “Therefore, we are left with no alternative but to take preparatory steps to cease operations on both blast furnaces and safely isolate them no later than July 7.” Unite called the strike in response to Tata’s plans to switch to a more environmentally friendly way to produce steel, which could result in the loss of thousands of jobs. Tata has also launched legal action against Unite’s ballot.
A Tata Steel spokesperson said, “Following the announcement by Unite Union to unilaterally call for a strike from July 8, Tata Steel is unfortunately forced to commence legal action to challenge the validity of Unite’s ballot. “In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely operate our assets in a stable fashion through the period of the striken, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (includin.