According to Mark Palmer, BBC News
Workers at Tata Steel have been told that the company is taking steps to halt operations at the plant on July 7 due to strikes by the Unite trade union.
The company originally planned to shut down one of its blast furnaces at the end of June and the second one in September.
But Port Talbot workers have been told that due to strikes since July 8, the company cannot guarantee that sufficient resources will be available to ensure safe and stable operations.
The Unite union said Tata’s statement to close or pause the blast furnace three months earlier than intended is the latest in a long line of threats and will not stop people.
The Welsh Government has said it cannot and will not support the closure of the blast furnace.
Last week on The union announced that about 1,500 workers would begin an indefinite strike on July 8 through the company’s plans to cut thousands of jobs.
About 2,800 Tata Steel workers will lose their jobs when the company closes two blast furnaces in Port Talbot at the end of September.
At the time, the company said that if the attack affected the safety or stability of its operations it would be “forced” to accelerate its closure plans.
A Tata spokesperson said: “Following the announcement by the Unite union to unilaterally call strike action from July 8, Tata Steel has unfortunately been forced to initiate legal action to challenge the validity of the Unite ballot.
“In the coming days, if we cannot be sure that we can continue to operate our assets in a safe and stable manner during the period of strike action, we will have no other option but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including blast furnaces). ) on site Port Talbot.
“This is not a decision we will take lightly, and we know it will prove costly and disruptive throughout our supply chain, but the safety of people on or around our sites will take priority over everything else.”
Tata said he again called on Unite to cancel the industrial action and join the Community and GMB union in “giving insight” to the company’s proposal, which Tata said included a “generous worker support package, training and skills development”.
He said he “understands” the impact of the restructuring on many employees and contractors, but “remains committed to a just transition” and looks forward to a “long and sustainable future” in the UK.
Sharon Graham, general secretary of Unite, said Unite was “fighting for the future of the steel industry”.
He said Unite was getting “serious investment” from Labor to keep jobs.
“Tata issued a statement to close or pause the blast furnace three months earlier than expected as the latest threat that will not stop us.
“The Unite campaign is not about selling jobs, it’s about securing the long-term future of steelmaking in this country for thousands of workers in Port Talbot and South Wales.”
Unite said it was calling “real decision makers” in Mumbai to let them know that “guaranteed investment will be good for companies and workers.”
The GMB union said Tata should “back off” from “irreversible decisions” and instead “maintain steel-making assets”.
GMB national officer Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said the upcoming general election could “change a lot”, and the GMB’s next course of action would be decided by members.
First minister Vaughan Gething described the news from Tata as “extraordinary” and urged the company to await the results of next week’s general election.
In a statement, Mr Gething said: “The news that Tata may shut down Blast Furnaces 4 and 5 in Port Talbot next week is extraordinary and will cause great anxiety for the workforce, their families and the community.
“The Welsh Government cannot and will not support the closure of two blast furnaces”.
He added that acting when the country went to the polls did not help solve the problem.
Luke Fletcher, Plaid Cymru’s economic spokesman, said steel should be brought under the control of the next UK government, which Plaid believes will be led by Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Fletcher said: “Now is the time for the incoming Labor government to enforce its words on steel.
“Save our steel is not good as just a slogan, if we want to save our steel, nationalization must happen on the first day.”