Indian conglomerate Tata Steel has initiated legal action against the UK’s Unite Union, questioning the legitimacy of the union’s vote for striking on Friday.
This action coincides with a time, when 1,500 Tata Steel workers had planned an indefinite strike from July 8, opposing company’s plan to close two blast furnaces. Cutting 2,800 jobs.
This strike is set to take place at Tata’s Port Talbot and Llanwern sites in Wales. Issuing a statement Tata Steel spokesperson said, ‘In the coming days, if we cannot be certain that we are able to continue to safely and stably operate our assets through the period of strike action, we will not have any choice but to pause or stop heavy end operations (including both blast furnaces) on the Port Talbot site.’
The union requested company’s decisionmakers to negotiate and understand that secured investment will greatly benefit the company and its workers.
‘We call on the real decision makers in Mumbai to take hold of this dispute, sit down, negotiate and realise that the investment secured will be good for the company and workers said union leaders.
While Tata Steel industry has asked the union to stop the strike and think about the proposed agreement with the UK government, which includes a comprehensive support package valued at £130 million for affected employees, covering redundancy terms, community initiatives, skills training, and more.
Meanwhile, the steelmaker has started its preparations for placing equipment orders for installing electric furnace by September 2024, which plans to start its preparatory work at the site by December 2024. Most likely its construction will start around august 2025.