AS the last steelworks in Scotland face closure ending 150 years of history, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pledged to fight for the future of the industry.
Communities in Lanarkshire were “devastated” yesterday by confirmation from Tata Steel that 270 jobs are to go at its Dalzell site in Motherwell and Clydebridge in Cambuslang.
Unite’s Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty said the news “effectively brings an end to a proud tradition of steel-making in Scotland”.
At its peak, steel-making employed more than 10,000 people in plants and surrounding businesses in central Scotland, with the famous Ravenscraig site once the biggest producer of hot-strip steel in Europe.
Steel firm Tata insisted it had “looked at every possibility” to keep Scotland’s two remaining plants open before confirming they are to be mothballed with the loss of 225 jobs at the Dalzell plate-rolling works in Motherwell and 45 posts at the Clydebridge plant.
A further 900 jobs will go at Tata’s facility in Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire.
The firm blamed the cuts on a flood of cheap imports from China, a strong pound and high electricity costs.
However, Sturgeon has pledged to “leave no stone unturned” in an effort to keep the plants open and support those facing redundancy.
The Scottish Government has also set up a task force to look for new owners for some or all of the business in Scotland.
Sturgeon, who will visit both plants tomorrow, said: “My Government is determined to fight for a future for our steel industry.
‘’We will leave no stone unturned in our efforts to keep the plants open and support the 270 staff affected by today’s announcement.’’
Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale called on the Government to urgently meet with trade unions and Tata Steel to bring forward a strategy to retain steel skills and jobs in Scotland.
Ross Clark, trade union Community’s lead representative at the Dalzell plant, said: “Everybody’s devastated and worried by today’s news.
“We’ve faced a lot of challenges in this business and we’ve overcome them, but now our future is uncertain.
“We welcome the fact the Scottish Government is going to set up a task force and Community will play a full role in that.
“The task force must deliver on the promises the Scottish Government has made in recent days to save our steel.
“It needs to come up with real, practical solutions that protect the workforce, the skills and the assets until we can find an alternative and sustainable future.’’
Rafferty said Unite will be “pressing” the Government to live up to its promise to do everything it can to support the steel industry in Scotland and save jobs.
He added: “The impact on the Scottish economy which is also being hammered by job losses in North Sea oil will be severe unless there is urgent support.
“The UK Government should take note of the Scottish Government’s more proactive response and act to save our steel across the UK.’’
However, Westminster’s Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Sajid Javid, said there were limits to what the UK Government can do and “no government can disregard international regulations on free trade”.
He then told steelworkers: “Let me assure you that the Government is doing everything possible to support you. We will not abandon you.”
Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) general secretary Grahame Smith described the announcement as a “crushing blow” and called on the UK and Scottish Governments to respond “with the speed and gravity the situation demands”.
Smith said: “The complacency with which many seem to accept the demise of yet another manufacturing industry is disgraceful and belies ignorance about the ways in which other countries have coped more effectively with the pressures of globalisation.
“Yet the least workers in both plants can expect is a level playing field.
“It is unacceptable that China is able to dump its steel at below the cost of production and that the support provided to the UK steel industry, like other energy intensive sectors, receives nothing like the support available to the sector in other European countries.”
Speaking outside the Dalzell steelworks, Tata Europe HR director Tor Farquhar said “every possibility had been explored to keep the sites open”.
He said he was “pessimistic” that both mothballed Scottish plants would ever reopen.
Farquhar added: “It’s an extremely difficult day for the employees most of all, and for the company.
“Clearly any opportunity that there is for a future for these plants we would take, but I do need to re-emphasise that we have looked at every possibility for these plants already and we’ve ended up with the announcement that we have today.”
Mark Firmin, head of restructuring at KPMG, said the current crisis will have a knock-on effect on steel processors, stockholders, distributors, scrap-metal dealers, metal traders, maintenance providers and suppliers of equipment.
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