Strikes at Tata’s Port Talbot steelworks called off after change in closure date
A planned strike at the Port Talbot steelworks has been suspended after the Unite union said new investment was proposed.
Unite is suspending its industrial action, it said, after the news on Thursday that the Indian conglomerate owner, Tata, would, in response, close the site earlier than first announced.
Talks throughout the weekend yielded a “significant development” in the form of an agreement from Tata to discuss future investment and not just redundancies, the union said
The closure date is now 7 July, the day before the previously planned strike and roughly two months before the September timeline originally announced to close the final blast furnace in which steel is made.
Up to 2,800 jobs are to be lost – 2,500 in the next year, and a further 300 in three years despite a £500m taxpayer cash injection to support the site’s transition to cheaper, greener steel production to cut emissions.
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Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant is the biggest single emitter of carbon dioxide in Britain.
The first steel blast furnace was due to close at the end of June in a push to reduce carbon emissions at what is the UK’s single largest source of CO2.
The previous fossil-fuel-powered blast furnaces are being replaced by a single electric arc furnace.
Union response
It was in protest to job losses, and the effect on the local community, that Unite members were striking.
The early closure decision by Tata was last week described as being the “latest In a long line of threats that won’t deter us” by Unite’s secretary general Sharon Graham.
“The strikes will go on until Tata halts its disastrous plans,” she said on Thursday. An overtime ban had already been in effect from 17 June.
Another union representing Port Talbot steelworkers welcomed Unite’s industrial action pause and the fact it was getting “back around the table with their sister steel unions”.
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Tata would resume discussions if the strike was called off, Alun Davies the national officer for Community the steelworkers’ union said.
“The truth is Tata never walked away from those discussions, and at our last meeting on 22 May all unions agreed to conclude the negotiations and put the outcome to our members. Community will welcome resuming those discussions, but we regret that zero progress has been made since 22 May.”
Tata has been contacted for comment.
Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir Starmer to sack Treasury minister Tulip Siddiq over allegations she lived in properties linked to allies of her aunt, Sheikh Hasina, the deposed prime minister of Bangladesh.
It comes after the current Bangladeshi leader, Muhammad Yunus, said London properties used by Ms Siddiq should be investigated.
He told the Sunday Times the properties should be handed back to his government if they were acquired through “plain robbery”.
Tory leader Ms Badenoch said: “It’s time for Keir Starmer to sack Tulip Siddiq.
“He appointed his personal friend as anti-corruption minister and she is accused herself of corruption.
“Now the government of Bangladesh is raising serious concerns about her links to the regime of Sheikh Hasina.”
Ms Siddiq insists she has “done nothing wrong”.
Her aunt was ousted from office in August following an uprising against her 20-year leadership and fled to India.
Ms Siddiq is also named with her aunt in Bangladesh court documents about meetings with the Russian government.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch has called on Sir Keir to sack the minister
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As economic secretary to the Treasury, Ms Siddiq is responsible for policy on both the City and tackling corruption.
She referred herself to the prime minister’s ethics watchdog on Monday following the reports about the properties.
On the same day, the prime minister said: “Tulip Siddiq has acted entirely properly by referring herself to the independent adviser, as she’s now done, and that’s why we brought into being the new code.
“It’s to allow ministers to ask the adviser to establish the facts, and yes, I’ve got confidence in her, and that’s the process that will now be happening.”
Police in Aberdeen have widened the search area for two sisters who disappeared four days ago in the city.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV on Market Street after leaving their home on Tuesday at around 2.12am.
The sisters – who are part of a set of triplets and originally from Hungary – crossed the Victoria Bridge to the Torry area and turned right on to a footpath next to the River Dee.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti were last seen on CCTV in Market Street. Pic: Police Scotland/PA
They headed in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club but officers said there is no evidence to suggest the missing women left the immediate area.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and a marine unit have been trying to trace the pair.
The sisters crossed Victoria Bridge before walking along a footpath next to the River Dee
The pair were heading in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club on the south side of the River Dee
Further searches are being carried out towards the Port of Aberdeen’s South Harbour and Duthie Park.
Police Scotland said it is liaising with authorities in Hungary to support the relatives of the two sisters.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Eliza and Henrietta’s family are understandably extremely worried about them and we are working tirelessly to find them.
“We are seriously concerned about them and have significant resources dedicated to the inquiry.”
The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Officers have requested businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review their CCTV footage for the early morning of Tuesday 7 January.
Police added they are keen to hear from anyone with dashcam footage from that time.
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