Steel: Tata listening to Port Talbot concern, say unions

The steel works is at the heart of the community in Port Talbot

Unions say a meeting to discuss alternative proposals for the Port Talbot steelworks went "exceptionally well" and Tata Steel was "listening".

Community, Unite and the GMB met Tata representatives in London to discuss plans to decarbonise the works.

Unions had previously said that Tata planned to close both blast furnaces.

It would mean cutting up to 3,000 jobs by next spring, before construction begins of an electric furnace that melts scrap.

But an independent report which recommends a longer transition will now be considered by the company.

It comes as workers described being in the dark and fearful they would not be able to pay their mortgages with their jobs under threat.

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Unions had asked Syndex to prepare a report that examined how Port Talbot - home to the UK's largest steelworks - could be decarbonised.

The report is understood to recommend maintaining blast furnace steel production for a number of years, and suggests far fewer jobs would be lost in the short term.

Alun Davies from steelworkers union Community, speaking to BBC Wales as the meeting with Tata Steel ended, said the meeting went "exceptionally well, considering we thought that Tata would just want to go forward and implement their plan".

Port Talbot steelworks employs 4,000 of Tata's 8,000 workforce

Mr Davies said Tata told the unions that the company "wanted to enter into meaningful and constructive negotiations".

"We told the company that their plan was not acceptable to us," he added.

"Our people are struggling, they want to know what's going on, they need some stability."

At the beginning of November, the unions were told by Tata Steel that the company planned to close both blast furnaces in Port Talbot by the end of March, with the loss of up to 3,000 jobs.

The plant is Wales's largest carbon emitter, and the company has negotiated a £500m UK government grant towards its £1.25bn plan to decarbonise the site.

Mr Davies said the shock at the company's original plan had eased following Friday's meeting.

"They were listening today, otherwise they would have just come forward and initiated their plan," he said.

"Today was quite positive from my point of view. I have got more hope now than I did have before.

"However, ultimately it is down to Tata and the government now. I think we need to start pushing government to put a little bit more money on the table because what they have proposed is not enough."

Tata Steel has said it is "committed to transitioning to greener steelmaking" and it would give the independent report "full consideration" before entering consultation with unions.