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Unite, the biggest of Britain’s trade unions, is scheduled to meet Tata Steel chairman Cyrus Mistry (pictured) on November 15, following the company’s announcement of a likely sale of its European long products division.
The company’s announcement last week has made it urgent for the workers involved. “There are 6,500 direct workers at Tata Steel, 4,000 contractors who are indirect workers and in addition to these, there are 15,000 downstream jobs that certainly rely on Tata Steel Europe, as the steel produced by it is used to make end-products by the downstream industry,” Paul Reuter, national officer at Unite, told Business Standard.
At Unite, the metals sector covers workers employed in the steel-making industry, notably in Tata Steel and Sahaviriya Steel Industries.
In addition, the sector represents Unite members in foundries, aluminium manufacture, the production of castings and coils for steel, and in precious metals. Unite also represents management and technical grades in the steel industry through the Steel Industry Managers Association.
“We will now move into detailed due-diligence and negotiations, though no assurance can be given about the outcome. We will regularly engage with our staff and other stakeholders throughout this process, and consult TU representatives and works councils,” Karl Koehler, chief executive of Tata Steel’s European operations had said last week.
Emails to Tata Steel from this newspaper were not answered.
“What will be the fate of the workers, if Tata Steel is unable to sell the long product division? Will the company cut jobs? If the unit is sold, will the new buyer reorganise the company, which can also end up in loss of jobs? There is a lot of uncertainty in terms of the future of the workers and this is a big worry for us,” said Reuter.
Unite plans to be in discussions with both Tata Steel and the likely buyer, the Geneva-based Klesch group. “There have been no discussions with the buyer as yet. It will take a couple of weeks to fix the meeting,” said Reuter.
Adding: “Since even the steel strips unit of Tata Steel Europe is not doing too well, we want to understand their plans for this business as well. We will also discuss the future of Tata Steel Europe and their investment plans in making steel in the UK.”
For the buyer, discussions will mainly move around understanding the business model of the company and whether the buyer will continue to produce steel. Also, Unite is keen to know what kind of people will be needed and some details on the system the business has.
“Since Tata Steel has just started talks with the buyer, it is going to take time at least till March or maybe even longer,” said Reuter. “We will be in discussions throughout with both parties and try to influence the outcome.”
