Labour MP for Redcar Anna Turley told her party’s conference this afternoon that Redcar steel built the modern world, but now “feels at the mercy of it”, powerless to survive with a “Tory government turning its back on the industry”.
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Cornelius Louwrens, of SSI, said: “This is an extremely sad day for all of us at SSI United Kingdom, and in particular our employees and their families”. They will still be needed to operate coke ovens, the power station and the raw materials handling facility.
“Government can also help ease the burden of business rates for this important strategic industry, where steel companies pay five to 10 times more than their competitors in France and Germany”, he said.
“I would like to know exactly what the response of the Chinese was and what ministers achieved”, said Stace, adding that the British Government must press the European Union to look at all instances of illegal dumping and the potential breach of EU trade rules.
He said: “Although the closure of the plant will hit Redcar hardest, people in our town are directly affected too”.
Sahaviriya Steel Industries (SSI) has “no other option but to mothball its iron and steel making facilities on Teesside”, it said in a statement.
‘These vital industrial skills have been passed down through the generations and must not be lost’.
Mothballing at the Redcar site means steelmaking has officially stopped.
A few only heard the devastating news through the media or on Facebook.
Now the price of steel has almost halved over the past year and overproduction flooding the market.
A union has already raised concerns over whether its members working at the plant would be paid.
Steelmakers last week urged the government to rescue the industry by cutting green taxes and banning cheap imports that had pushed prices to levels that made United Kingdom plants unviable.
The Government has resisted calls to rescue the plant, however.
“It’s prepared to learn the lesson that the Italian government could have quite easily have taught them that you can intervene either temporarily or permanently, there are lots of ways you can do it if you are serious about defending the economic infrastructure and the and manufacturing base of this country”. Steel is the lifeblood of the local economy and runs through the community’s veins. “If the government does nothing plants like SSI will continue to close”, she added.
Angela Eagle, shadow business secretary, said: “The latest announcement from SSI shows how critical the situation in Redcar is”.
A black and white front page wrap marking the loss of 1,700 jobs in a steelworks closure has been published by a regional daily.
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The move forms part of Mr Corbyn’s new hands-on industrial strategy which stresses state promotion of enterprise.
