British Steel cancels mass redundancy plans
Thousands of steel workers have breathed a sigh of relief after the threat of mass redundancies was withdrawn following a government decision to put British Steel into public ownership.
China-based Jingye, the Scunthorpe plant’s former owner, said last month it was consulting on up to 2,700 job losses after it rejected a £500m subsidy from the government to keep its furnaces open.
The move, which caught ministers by surprise, sparked a rare government manoeuvre to trigger emergency powers and recall Parliament for a Saturday sitting earlier this month. The session in the Commons ratified plans for the government to return firm to public ownership in an attempt to keep the UK’s last remaining virgin steel furnaces burning.
The vote returned British Steel to public ownership for the first time in nearly 40 years, alongside the appointment of a new leadership team of long-serving employees. Alan Bell was named its chief executive and Lisa Coulson was named its chief commercial officer.
Now, Coulson has confirmed the company has withdrawn the HR1 consultation form it had submitted to the Department of Business and Trade in March, saying the “difficult and worrying time” for staff was over.
“I can… confirm that we are closing the redundancy consultation without action,” she said.
“Since the government passed its legislation… we have been working day and night to ensure we are able to stabilise our operations. The work done to secure the raw materials we need for both [our] blast furnaces means we are able to run both continuously.”
The furnaces were able to be rescued after a scramble to secure a supply of materials that would sustain the steelworks. The Royal Navy had been put ‘on alert’ to escort the crucial shipments of coking cole to Scunthorpe and ensure their timely arrival.
Industry minister Sarah Jones said: “The action this government took on 12 April, and the measures we’ve taken since, matter greatly for this country – and are of huge importance to thousands of steelworkers and their families.
“We will always stand up for our steel industry.”
A spokesman for the Unite union said: “Unite are pleased that British Steel have come to their senses and realised that job losses are not the way to ensure Britain remains an industrial power.”