![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://uknews.evprotec.com/tories-under-growing-pressure-to-agree-deal-for-tatas-port-talbot-steelworks/&media=https://uknews.evprotec.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/0_TOPSHOT-BRITAIN-INDIA-STEEL-TATA-1.jpg&description=Labour has called on the Government to offer workers at the plant reassurance and "clarify what exactly their plan for UK steel is" as reports suggest an agreement is edging closer Ministers are under mounting pressure to strike a deal to save Britain's biggest steelworks. The Tata plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, employs about 4,000 workers but is one of the country's biggest industrial polluters. Bosses from its Indian parent company have been locked in tense talks for months with top Tories and senior Whitehall officials over a £500million, taxpayer-funded injection to help the site switch to more environmentally-friendly production. Reports suggest an agreement could be edging closer, involving government cash alongside new investment of about £700million from Tata to create electric arc furnaces - less polluting than traditional, coal-fired blast furnaces. But insiders admit thousands of workers could still lose their jobs in the coming years because the new production process would need fewer staff. Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: 'The Government must urgently provide reassurance to workers in the Port Talbot plant and clarify what exactly their plan for UK steel is. Endless sticking plasters from the Conservatives have left our UK steel sector on the brink. Instead of finding a long-term solution, successive Conservative governments have lurched from crisis and bailouts with no plan to keep UK steel internationally competitive or deliver a return on taxpayers' investment.' He added: 'Labour has a plan for steel, investing in the future alongside industry over the next 10 years to deliver green steel. Steelworkers need a government on their side and industry needs a partner that can provide stability and a bright future for steelworkers for decades to come.' Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's spokesman said: 'Negotiations are ongoing as we look to secure the decarbonised, sustainable and competitive future for our UK steel sector. Tata themselves){kind=link}
Labour has called on the Government to offer workers at the plant reassurance and “clarify what exactly their plan for UK steel is” as reports suggest an agreement is edging closer
Ministers are under mounting pressure to strike a deal to save Britain’s biggest steelworks. The Tata plant in Port Talbot, South Wales, employs about 4,000 workers but is one of the country’s biggest industrial polluters. Bosses from its Indian parent company have been locked in tense talks for months with top Tories and senior Whitehall officials over a £500million, taxpayer-funded injection to help the site switch to more environmentally-friendly production.
Reports suggest an agreement could be edging closer, involving government cash alongside new investment of about £700million from Tata to create electric arc furnaces – less polluting than traditional, coal-fired blast furnaces. But insiders admit thousands of workers could still lose their jobs in the coming years because the new production process would need fewer staff.
Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “The Government must urgently provide reassurance to workers in the Port Talbot plant and clarify what exactly their plan for UK steel is. Endless sticking plasters from the Conservatives have left our UK steel sector on the brink. Instead of finding a long-term solution, successive Conservative governments have lurched from crisis and bailouts with no plan to keep UK steel internationally competitive or deliver a return on taxpayers’ investment.”
He added: “Labour has a plan for steel, investing in the future alongside industry over the next 10 years to deliver green steel. Steelworkers need a government on their side and industry needs a partner that can provide stability and a bright future for steelworkers for decades to come.”