UNION chiefs have criticised China’s ambassador for being unapologetic over the demise of the steel industry in the UK with the loss of more than 2,000 jobs which has been blamed on cheap Chinese imports flooding the market.
As Prime Minister David Cameron rolled out the red carpet for China’s President Xi Jinping in London, the ambassador insisted the UK must “make adjustments” to keep up with the rapidly changing global economy when speaking about the closure of Redcar steelworks in Teeside. Liu Xiaoming said: “If you continue to stay with your old, traditional business, you’re losing money and opportunities ... China is making adjustments – why not Britain?”
Hundreds of workers in Lanarkshire are expected to learn their fate today when Indian-owned industry giant Tata announces the future of its two Scottish steel plants, Dalzell rolling mill in Motherwell and Clydebridge coating plant in Cambuslang.
Last week Tata signalled plans to axe more than 1,000 workers across the UK after steel imports rose and the strong pound affected its output.
Workers have called on Scottish ministers to help secure the industry’s future by backing a “short-time working programme” if plant closures go ahead.
It is believed about 1,200 jobs will be affected, including 400 in Scotland.
John Park, assistant general secretary of Community – the trade union that represents steel workers – said: “These comments from the Chinese ambassador will bring little comfort to the thousands of families suffering as a result of the UK’s struggling steel sector.
“Cheap imports from China are crippling the industry and threaten the very future of steelworks like Dalzell and Clydebridge in Lanarkshire. Steelworkers need governments at Westminster and Holyrood to come up with an active industrial policy which protects our steel sector from the effects of Chinese dumping and crippling domestic energy costs.
“We need to make sure that major government infrastructure projects, like HS2, make the most of our steel industry.
“Never again can we have a situation such as with the new Forth Road Bridge, where the Scottish Government chose to use Chinese steel instead of materials from Scotland.”
Last month Chancellor George Osborne began wooing Chinese investors to back the high speed rail link HS2 and other UK infrastructure projects at an event in Chengdu.
He opened up the bidding process to build HS2 to Chinese firms and investors, offering contracts worth £11.8 billion. But the Government insisted the plan still needed royal assent and details of steel suppliers would be negotiated further down the line.
The seven rail contracts are to build tunnels and track beds for the first phase of HS2 linking London with Birmingham and the Treasury is encouraging British and Chinese firms to partner and bid jointly for the work.
Ian Murray, the Shadow Scottish Secretary, called on Cameron to raise the fate of Tata Steel with the President of China during his visit.
He said: “We need to do everything we can to protect the jobs at Clydebridge and Dalzell.
Today, the Chinese President flies into the UK for a high-profile visit, but in recent months the UK has been flooded by Chinese steel which has made it more and more difficult for our steelworks to compete.”
Park said Scottish steel was facing its biggest test in a generation. He added: “Workers in the Scottish steel industry have done every- thing asked of them to ensure they can compete in a global marketplace. We are in the middle of the worst slump in steel prices in living memory and it is essential we maintain our capacity to produce steel in Scotland.
“We welcome Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement of a steel task force but it cannot simply be an exercise in managing decline. If the Scottish steel industry is to have a future then Nicola Sturgeon must ensure the strategic assets at Dalzell and Clydebridge are maintained.
“We also need the Scottish Government to examine their public infrastructure plans and work with all sides of industry to develop a proper industrial strategy for the sector.”
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