First Minister pressed on Tata Steel blast furnace closure

Emily Price

The First Minister has been pressed in the Senedd on job losses at Tata Steel following the closure of blast furnace four.

Monday (September 30) marked the end of virgin steel production in Port Talbot and the loss of nearly 2,000 jobs.

The ironworks will enter a transition phase until 2027 when steelmaking will resume through a £1.25 billion electric arc furnace.

‘Devastating’

During FMQs on Tuesday (October 1), Plaid Cymru’s leader Rhun ap Iorwerth described the closure of blast furnaces at the south Wales site as “devastating”.

He accused the new Labour administration in Westminster of giving the impression that they had a different strategy to the Tories when it came to Tata.

Transition

Speaking in the Chamber, Mr ap Iorwerth said: “This wasn’t about net zero. This was a blast furnace with many years left to run as part of a transition.

“Even Greenpeace point out Labour’s hypocrisy. You may have seen their film arguing for home grown steel reminding us of the Prime Minister’s promise that he had a plan for a viable future for steel, that he would fight for every job at Tata and for the future of steel in Wales.”

‘Significant day’

Eluned Morgan described the end of the traditional way of steelmaking as a “sad and significant day for the people of Port Talbot and the environment”.

The First Minister said the Labour government had been able to negotiate a “better deal than the Tories” for Tata workers.

Earlier this month, the UK Government announced a £500 million package to help the plant transition to greener, low carbon steel production.

It has also improved the redundancy package on offer to workers – with full-time staff getting a minimum of £15,000, plus a £5,000 retention payment and paid-for training.

The government can claw back some of the £500 million invested if Tata does not fulfil its commitments, which includes retaining 5,000 jobs across its UK businesses post-transformation.

Mr ap Iorwerth said the First Minister’s description of “traditional steel making” suggests the plant is carrying on doing the same thing but in a modern way.

He said: “It’s the loss of primary steel making in Port Talbot and for the UK strategically and that response I think will give little confidence that the government is learning lessons from Tata job losses.

“And remember it’s not just today’s Port Talbot workers who have been let down – but their children too. The government has to redouble efforts now to give them an economic future.”

Baroness Morgan said it was important to recognise that there is going to be a “significant investment” in the new electric arc furnace.

The new furnace will use electric currents to melt scrap steel or iron to produce steel, whereas the old blast furnaces used coke, a carbon-intensive fuel made from coal.

Moving to electric arc steel production will reduce the UK’s overall Co2 emissions by around 1.5%.

The First Minister said: “I do think it’s important that we recognise that, in fact, there is going to be a significant investment in the new electric arc furnace, so it isn’t the end of steel. But at a £1.25bn investment is not something that should be sniffed at.

“The fact is that we have got to look to the future. We have got to recognise that there may be 500 jobs during the construction of that process – and that there will be an industrial strategy.

“Had there been an industrial strategy under the Conservative Government, we may have been in a very, very different place.

“But, we are where we are now. An industrial strategy will be published very soon, the steel plan will come out in the spring, with £2.5 billion in that steel plan.

“And I’m hoping that that will cover the situation in Port Talbot, in Trostre, in Llanwern and other communities in Wales.”