Scots Tata steel workers take jobs fight to Holyrood

The Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang opened in 1887

Workers at two closure-threatened steel plants in Scotland have taken the fight to save their jobs before MSPs.

Up to 270 jobs could be lost after Tata Steel announced plans to mothball the plants in Motherwell and Cambuslang.

Staff from both facilities have unfurled a "Save Our Steel" banner outside the Motherwell site.

They boarded a coach for Edinburgh to attend a debate on the future of the Scottish steel industry at the Scottish Parliament.

A total of 225 jobs are threatened at the Dalzell plate-rolling works in Motherwell, along with 45 posts at the Clydebridge plant in Cambuslang.

Price collapse

Tata announced the job losses, along with 900 posts at its facility in Scunthorpe, two weeks ago.

The company blames cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs for a collapse in steel prices.

The Scottish government has pledged to do everything possible to keep the plants in Motherwell and Cambuslang operational.

Its preferred option is to find a buyer but ministers have not ruled out moves to bring both facilities under public ownership.

A Scottish Steel Task Force, chaired by business minister Fergus Ewing, and including representatives from trade unions and Tata, as well as local councils, met last week to discuss the way forward.

Mr Ewing said all members had agreed a "primary focus" was "to secure an alternative operator" for both plants "and retain as many jobs as possible."

The member's debate on the steel industry can be watched at Holyrood Live.