But the closure of the ovens suggests the remaining staff will lose their jobs.
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SSI was placed into liquidation with substantial debts and had no funds available to purchase the coal needed to keep the coking ovens operational.
Even before SSI United Kingdom entered into liquidation ministers have sat on their hands while thousands of people have lost their jobs.
The town’s Labour MP Anna Turley, accused the government of “industrial vandalism” by not keeping the site operational.
17-hundred jobs are going, with critics blaming the government for not stepping in.
Soubry defended the government, insisting it would “do whatever we can to help people”.
There had been hopes that the coke ovens could be kept running with a view to restarting the works under a future owner.
So, if you are a local employer, please support these fantastic workers by joining others and offering a job to someone from our community if you can.
Following this, the plant was left in a state of limbo with 650 staff being kept on the books to operate the coke ovens and manage the site in a safe manner in the hope that another buyer could be found by the weekend.
He added that the government’s “laissez faire approach” sets a “dangerous precedent for an industry battling to stay afloat in the face of cheap Chinese imports and high energy costs”.
All issues which the government could have addressed to keep the steel industry alive on Teesside but it has allowed 170 years of steelmaking to fade away with no fight. “It is time for the government to stop hiding behind European Union rules and follow the lead of the Italian, French and German governments by intervening to save a critical part of the British economy”.
Last week, the government announced an £80m package to support both SSI workers and the local economy following the plant’s closure.
Sue Soroczan, district manager of Durham and Tees Valley Jobcentre Plus, said: “We’ve had over 50 employers attend the jobs fair today, and there have been hundreds of people coming through the door during the course of the event”.
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“Steelworkers on Teesside will be furious that taxpayers’ money is being used in this way”.
