Port Talbot’s steelworkers site is the biggest in Britain
By Nicholas Bourne & Ben Price
BBC News
Welsh ministers and Tata bosses are due to continue talks next week about the future of the Port Talbot site.
The UK government and Tata has agreed a £1.2bn deal to secure its future and 5,000 out of 8,000 jobs in the UK, of which 4,000 are based at the plant.
Tata Steel boss T.V. Narendran said its factory was losing up to £1.5m a day.
Locals like Olivia Martin, whose father and partner work at Tata, told the BBC any job cuts could “have a massive impact” on people’s lives.
“It keeps a lot of roofs above people’s heads,” said Ms Martin from Cwmafan.
And instead of producing virgin steel, the plant would produce recycled steel.
The UK government has said the deal “has the potential to safeguard over 5,000 jobs across the UK”.
Olivia Martin, Andrew O’Connor and Barbara Evans share their views
Community union official Barbara Evans said local businesses were reliant on the Tata site and would be concerned about their future as well as Tata employees.
“What we would really like is a clear decision on what the investment is going to include for us,” she said.
“The steel industry is a one-in-four employer, meaning for every job in the steel industry you are looking at four jobs associated with it in the local community.
“It is not just Port Talbot but the wider south Wales area. I don’t live locally but I have worked here for nearly 30 years.”
Kemi Badenoch says the deal will save jobs which would otherwise have been lost.
Retired Port Talbot steel worker Andrew O’Connor said any uncertainty over steel jobs had previously created a “really unhealthy and horrible atmosphere to be working in, in such a dangerous environment”.
In a café in town, customer Ken Down said the steelworks had long been an integral part of local life and job losses would “devastate this town”.
“This town has for many years focused totally on the steelworks as the main source of income,” he said.
‘Body blow to thousands of families’
Torfaen council leader Anthony Hunt, who also represents the Welsh Local Government Association on finance, said “clarity and support are urgently needed for the workers at this incredibly worrying time”.
“Any job losses on this scale would be body blow to thousands of families, and the wider shockwaves would be keenly felt in the economy and communities,” he added.
Ian Price, boss of business leaders’ group CBI Wales, said: “It’s crucial that policymakers and local businesses now step in to provide support and equip those Tata workers facing possible redundancy with the tools they need to make a swift return to the job market.
“Their expertise is vital amid a growing skills gap facing so many industries.”
Economy Minister Vaughan Gething said he would meet Tata again next week to continue talks, after meeting with union officials on Friday.
“The Welsh government will continue to work closely with the trade unions and the company to do everything we can to minimise job losses,” he added.
The Welsh Conservatives economy spokesman Paul Davies said: “Without UK government investment, there would be a bigger risk to jobs and steel production in an area dependent on the industry.
“With negotiations still ongoing, the prime minister is securing the future of steel production in Port Talbot, which will be more focussed on reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment.”
