Port Talbot deal - first steps to changed steel industry
A deal has been agreed for the Port Talbot site, as the new UK Government works on a Steel Strategy.
Tata Steel and Trade Unions have agreed a government deal for Port Talbot steelworkers as the site’s blast furnaces are replaced.
Workers will receive a minimum voluntary redundancy payout of £15,000 for full-time employees plus a £5000 ‘retention’ payment to those leaving.
Paid-for training will otherwise give workers a steady income and upskill them for future work.
Employees on this training programme will be on full pay for the first month and £27,000 per annum for 11 months following. These salary costs will be funded by Tata Steel, which also anticipates that at least 500 new jobs will be created to support the construction of the electric arc furnace.
The government’s contribution to the construction stands at £500mln.
Conditions within the grant funding agreement will ensure return of the investment, should Tata Steel not meet its commitments, including a retention of 5,000 jobs across its UK business post transformation.
Looking beyond Port Talbot, £2.5bln of government investment has been allocated to the steel industry and to help it decarbonise.
The Steel Strategy, to be published inext year, will examine how the government can increase steel capacity and capability in the UK.
It will identify gaps in current capabilities, assessing future UK steel demand and helping to inform investment decisions.
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