Union announces Tata deal struck for Port Talbot
7 Dec 2016
One of the three unions involved in negotiations to maintain output at Tata steelworks across the UK says a deal has been struck for the main Port Talbot site.
The Community union told the BBC it had been given a commitment from the company that would protect the site’s two blast furnaces for five yearsand provide £1bn over a decade to ensure production continued. The agreement will also include Tata’s other sites in Britain.
However, workers at Port Talbot – which employs 4,000 people - have been warned that changes are likely to the business’s substantial pension commitment, bringing in a defined contribution scheme. The size of the commitment to the £14 billion British Steel Pension Scheme was reportedly an obstacle for some potential bidders.
Nevertheless a spokesman for Community, which negotiated alongside Unite and the GMB unions, welcomed the planned deal as a means to secure jobs and investment to the area as well as Tata’s other UK sites.
Although Port Talbot remains the largest site, thousands more people are employed at Tata outlets in Newport, Rotherham and eight other locations.
