Is this the end of British manufacturing?
Summary
TLDRThe video examines the potential closure of Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant in Wales, which would impact 3,000 jobs. It explores reactions from workers who have dedicated careers there and believe Westminster doesn't care about them. The script also analyzes factors like Brexit, climate change policy, and Conservative indifference as contributing to Port Talbot's struggles. Overall, it provides perspectives from multiple stakeholders to illustrate the human impact of closing the historic plant on the community.
Takeaways
- 😢 Steelworkers in Port Talbot, Wales face potential job losses as Tata Steel plans to shut down blast furnaces.
- 😟 The closure could impact up to 10,000 jobs in the area and devastate the local community.
- 🤔 Tata Steel claims it needs to transition to green steel production, but unions argue the technology isn't ready yet.
- 😠 Workers feel betrayed by broken Brexit promises that steel would thrive outside the EU.
- 😤 The UK government provided funds to Tata Steel but nothing to protect steelworker jobs.
- 😒 Workers don't feel supported by the Conservative government and believe they'd do more if the plant was elsewhere.
- 🙁 Generations of families have worked in the steel industry and would lose their livelihoods.
- 🤨 The UK would become reliant on importing steel rather than producing its own.
- 😕 Closure is seen as inevitable but workers want a managed transition to protect jobs.
- 😐 The government is offering retraining rather than trying to save the plant and its associated jobs.
Q & A
What is the current situation at the Port Talbot steelworks?
-The Port Talbot steelworks is at risk of closure, with Tata Steel planning to shut down the two remaining blast furnaces which would cost up to 2,800 jobs at the site. This despite the UK government providing Tata with half a billion pounds to help with their green transition.
What is the potential impact on the local community if the steelworks closes?
-The unions estimate that closure could affect over 10,000 jobs in total when accounting for knock-on effects. This would devastate Port Talbot and the surrounding area which is already economically struggling, potentially turning it into a ghost town.
Why does the UK still need steel production facilities like Port Talbot?
-UK industries like car manufacturing and food production rely on domestic steel production. Without it they would have to import steel, which increases costs and emissions due to transportation. Retaining some domestic steel production is strategically important.
Is this closure driven by climate change policy?
-No, experts say it is more a consequence of Brexit and unfulfilled promises that the UK steel industry would thrive outside the EU. The Biden administration has also made clear it wants to limit imports of dirty steel.
How have the UK government responded to the situation?
-Poorly according to critics. The PM refused a call from the Welsh First Minister on the day the closure plans were announced. The government has pledged retraining funds but workers want ongoing investment to secure the site's future.
What financial support have the opposition proposed?
-The Labour party have proposed a £3.5 billion fund for clean steel production across the UK. This would support the transition to lower emission virgin steel production at sites like Port Talbot.
What transition support do workers want to see?
-Workers want the blast furnaces kept operating until new electric arc furnaces are built. This would retain jobs during the transition. They also want a pledge of support for the long-term future of Port Talbot.
Why might the government be reluctant to provide more support?
-As a traditionally Labour-voting area, there is a perception the Conservative government cares less about protecting Welsh jobs. Unions feel support would be greater if Port Talbot was located elsewhere.
What has happened when major employers have left similar areas before?
-Former mining areas have never recovered, with ongoing economic decline and destitution. Workers fear the same fate but want to see proactive efforts to avoid it this time.
How do steelworkers feel they are viewed by politicians?
-They feel misunderstood and ignored, with politicians failing to grasp the importance of steelmaking for communities and talking only of retraining rather than solutions to keep the industry going.
Outlines
🏭 Paragraph 1 introduces Port Talbot steelworks facing closure and job losses.
The first paragraph provides background on Port Talbot steelworks in Wales, which is facing potential closure of its blast furnaces operated by Tata Steel. This could result in thousands of job losses, up to 2,800 at the main site, affecting the livelihoods of steelworkers who have dedicated their careers there across generations. The impacts would ripple through the community and dependent businesses. There are questions over who is to blame - climate policy, Brexit, the government?
😟 Paragraph 2 explores the wider economic impact on the community and region.
The second paragraph explains the potential closure's devastating impact beyond the direct job losses at the plant. Many related businesses like deliveries, hospitality and shops would suffer across the region. Some estimates suggest over 10,000 jobs could be affected in Port Talbot and beyond if the furnaces close, with communities left struggling.
😤 Paragraph 3 covers steelworkers lobbying government and lack of support.
Paragraph three focuses on steelworkers bringing their case to Parliament, hoping to lobby politicians to back the industry. But Labour's plans to support steel proved absent, with the Shadow Chancellor unaware of the debate. There is a feeling the government is not providing the needed support, unlike what would happen if the plant was in a Conservative-voting area.
😡 Paragraph 4 looks at the impact of climate policy and Brexit.
The fourth paragraph examines differing perspectives on the closure. Some see it as climate hysteria, while others point to Brexit fallout and highlight that much dirtier steel will now be imported. There is anger at broken promises that Brexit would boost British steel, with the industry let down.
😟 Paragraph 5 considers risks of losing major customers like food canning.
The fifth and final paragraph explores the risk of major customers like the food canning factory Tata supplies switching to foreign steel if the blast furnaces close, as electric arc furnace capabilities currently can't replace their needs. This could threaten the viability of interlinked manufacturing.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡jobs
💡community
💡generations
💡government
💡green steel
💡blast furnaces
💡carbon emissions
💡destitution
💡uncertainty
💡hope
Highlights
Steel was marketed as Britain's Diamond, the great Bastion of Brexit and sovereignty
3000 jobs are at risk and a town in Wales is on the brink of collapse due to the steel plant closure
The steel closure could cost up to 2800 direct jobs and over 10,000 additional jobs due to knock-on effects
Other G20 countries are not abandoning virgin steel production like the UK, but are building bigger plants
Labour has a £3.5 billion clean steel production plan to help transition and mitigate job losses
Closing blast furnaces is not the climate-friendly solution as it offshores emissions to less efficient foreign plants
Brexit promises of better global trade for UK steel failed to materialize
Prime Minister refused to take a call with the First Minister of Wales when the closure was announced
The local economy relies heavily on the steel plant, with Hindes bean factory at risk without steel supply
The steel plant once employed 20,000 people locally compared to just 3000 now
Locals have no faith the Conservatives care about their town or would do anything to earn their vote
There's still time for the government to negotiate between unions and Tata Steel
Wales has a history of major manufacturers leaving despite government intervention attempts
Labour MP laments the indifference and lack of seriousness from the Conservative government
Locals feel the Conservatives have failed them for over a decade
Transcripts
steel was marketed as Britain's Diamond
product the great Bastion of brexit
sovereignty so why now are there 3,000
jobs at risk and why is a town in Wales
on the brink of collapse welcome to Port
Albert the steel town of Port talba is
braced for the same devastating decline
suffered by a string of once thriving
South Wales Valley communities TARTA
steel have said it will shut down the
two remaining blast furnaces costing up
to 2,800 jobs at its main UK site
despite half a billion pounds of
government funding to help the Indian
company with its green transition no
deal was attempted to keep workers in
their roles people are facing the worst
case scenario but who's to blame is it
climate hysteria is it brexit or is it
the current conservative Administration
and what happens when 3,000 people and
their dependents are forced onto the
doll hi when I started here in 1979 I
had my Apprentice interview and in the
red brick building you see were there
that's where I actually had my interview
for my first year appren SHP in as I say
1979 all this land going back about a
mile down there used to be British steel
land as well so was a lot of change all
along here right the way as far as you
can see down there this is my 45th year
now in the steel works there's been a
lot of change in that time and I never
thought I'd be alive to see the day
where we were massively under threat of
closure uh because that what they
announced with a heavy end really
speaking could be the the final na in
the car thing talk to me then about the
local area so headline is 2,800 jobs
could go but what what is that actually
mean in real terms if you go Downstream
as well you got the deliveries um lry
drivers who deliver in raw materials the
boats and everything com in in the
community the shops Cinemas uh the
corner shop The Petal station everything
everything the knock on yeah the pubs
everything is a knock on and it's say
the community is not just a local
community no more but I Saturday in 1979
you could put the blanket over the area
of people where they came from to join
this company now it's way way further
the field people are traveling 30 m 40
mil to get to work here so it'll knock
on into their hometowns as well so it
it's far out reaching we we're looking
at tataa and the reducing of the two
plus furnaces bearing in mind are
building new furnaces in their Homeland
so for it to go green I mean I
understand we we we produce 2% of the
carbon that's contributed into the UK
and 2% too much but we seem to be one of
the few countries that are playing by
the Queensbury rules everyone else has
seem to be building the new bigger uh
Coke furnaces where we are shutting ours
and it's even green pieces say in the
electric AR is not the way forward at
this pleasure Moment In Time so we're
hoping now to have get green peace down
you and have a chat with them and
explain to them their thoughts on it as
well we need to try and do this and do
this properly if we're going to play a
part in what's going on globally uh
rather than actually uh relegating
ourselves to something of a Backwater
because uh none other of the G20 Nations
uh to my knowledge is abandoning virgin
steel production but Labor's green
Prosperity plan does have provision in
there
saying that they would provide three and
a half billion pounds for clean steel
production across the UK uh that would
be welcome uh because if we're
manufacturing virgin steel uh with much
lower emissions through clean hydrogen
then we think globally that means a
better outcome for the climate obviously
we're delighted if it can have a a good
outcome for workers who have been uh who
are exiting from the old steel industry
as well because it's very important that
this uh the transition to low emissions
and zero emissions is done barely as
possible to the to the workers at the
sharp end so that's why we think that a
plan that does include provision for
Virgin steel production in the UK uh is
something that a government of any shade
should be looking at what we need really
is is something more like a vision for
Port Tolbert and we think that clean
steel production absolutely fits that
and I hope would uh allow some of those
job losses to be mitigated or avoided
can you talk to me a little bit about
what it's like to work inside the
plant well I got to be honest I think
it's tremendous you know what I mean
I've always you know I've done a bit in
there and uh I enjoy my job I do enjoy
it and it's about meeting people and
it's the banther in there as well
because I go to different areas and not
stuck in one place so it's brilliant for
me how long did you say you'd been here
18 years
years when did you start then oh Christ
18 years
ago what made you start what made me
start uh I come in I come in as a brick
leer in the works then we was outsourced
the
department but uh I've really enjoyed it
if this closes it'll be a massive blow
to the community full stop I mean the
town is not very good at the moment
anyway what I mean with shops and
everything else for this area it'll be a
massive blow not for this area for the
rest of South Wales know what I mean cuz
it's an knock on effect though they
saying it's like uh 2,800 jobs or
whatever it'll be a massive a lot more
than that it'll be about 12,000 jobs if
Tata steel are to close their furnace
buyers of Port Talbert steel such as
nissen's Sunderland car factory and
canning producers like baked bean maker
hindes would have to begin importing
steel to keep their British factories
open thousands of businesses would be
affected and not just in manufacturing
Lorry drivers and Hospitality would all
be put out of work in Port talber alone
unions estimate the number of workers
affected could top
10,000 my name's Mandy Mandy what do you
do um I own I'm owner of this sper van
I've been here for 35 years what's going
to happen when the steel if gosh if if
the steel Works were to close I don't
think there' be much much use of us then
really a job for us so not on effect for
everybody everybody in every aspect of
life there be a knock on effect for
everybody devastating
really is that the feeling around around
town yeah it's quite apocalyptic at the
moment everybody's in a a bit of a days
like I don't think they thought that it
was going to happen ever and now that it
has come to light I think a lot of
people people
are well they
really they're not happy about it but
they can't do nothing about it so if
there you go you go pretty much uh this
it's just a knock on effect from the
smallest people up to the bigger ones
and it's just everything it be
devastating around here it'll be like a
ghost town it's become a National
Emergency I mean do you do you feel it
like I mean it's all over the news do
you feel the sort of support that you
want from I think everybody in in around
you should stand with them and fight
with them so you know everybody get
involved because it involves everybody
and it's like families uh like third
fourth Generations cuz there's nothing
else you it's all everybody ever known
is the still works my father my
grandfather my two one of my brothers
worked there my husband works there my
son works there
us so it's a big knock on effect all
together like never look at anything
half empty because you'll get never get
anywhere aul always a full but these
people have been out to work before this
and they've got struggles in their lives
and that and they come up here for a
jack of coffee and uh you know try to
talk to them and things got to be done
sometimes
[Music]
of on Tuesday Port Talbert workers
brought their case to Parliament in
hopes of lobbying politicians to take
their plight seriously I I do also want
to acknowledge that in the public
Gallery we have many Steel Workers
who've made the journey here today men
like Alan who have worked at Port
Talbert for 40 years as did his father
and did both his grandfathers or Gary
who's worked there for 37 years and his
son now works in the hot Mill we have
men and women from Port Tolbert from
skunthorp and from trra who started as
apprentices and I want to say thank you
to them thank you for the contribution
that they and their families have made
to the UK over many many generations
last year I went several times to to
Steel sites across Wales and I met the
workforce at Port Talbert when these
plans were first announced I think they
deserve a lot better than what they're
being offered right now but at a minimum
they deserve this place to take their
case seriously and to engage with these
issues with the respect and
consideration they require I'm Jess I'm
electrical engineer in pot to Steel
works in the hot Mill what you doing
today um trying to put some uh pressure
on the government on the politicians
inside to um get behind step up and
support the steel industry um it's
devastating um it's the first time I've
been in a position like this in my
career I started in the steel industry
in 1999 um in my 25th year now um yeah
it's devastating it it is it's it's yeah
it's it's really difficult for a guy
like me I provided for my family my
whole career um I got a wife I got two
kids I pay on the main bread we I pay
for everything um yeah it's it's a hard
position to find yourself in how
important is it to the area it's
massively important to the area um so
the steel industry is the biggest
employer in the area but it's the
biggest contributor to the economy in
the area um it is critical that that
industry survives I'm from The southw
Valleys um born and breed in AV area U
and brought up there um ex- mining
Community I've seen the devastation
that's come when new pole Industries
like this out of the community eil was
the next Valley over from where I lived
um when that went in 2002 um or 2001
it's resulted in the area of Brent
slipping further and further down the
SAU economic scale it's left now in
destitution and there's no answer to it
the government um haven't put any
support into those areas there's nothing
to say that they'd put the support into
Port Albert if that was to fail they've
pledged um uh retraining funds and this
but the industry hasn't gone yet I'm not
interested in retraining fans I'm not
interested in an article in the Wales
online yesterday saying what are we
going to do with the land um we're still
there we we need a business going
forward we need to keep the blast
furnace going until the electric AR
furnace is built we need a 3 million T
Elric AR forness we need support from
these guys here to pledge their support
for the long-term future of Port Albert
the industries in the wrong area in the
country with regards to support from a
Tori government um we're unlikely to see
it in South Wales we're not Tori voters
historically um we're from a sort of
industrial Heartland we're from that
that ex-mining Community we we're lab
born and breed in that respect um so
yeah we we need to see the support um I
think if the steel Works was in a
different part of the country then yeah
we may have seen more support from aori
government but you may not have had the
same Workforce then so yeah it's it's a
little difficult so you're going to go
into Parliament today and you're going
to sit through the debate and they are
going to tell you that they're going to
retrain the area that they're going to
repurpose the area I mean what are you
going to think it's not good enough it
it's it's not the answer um this is all
stuff that has happened in my area where
I was born and bred it has never
recovered the area is still today in
destitution massive Reliance on benefits
massive Reliance on food F Banks it is
at the top of every League table nobody
wants to be near as an economic area
there's no opportunity there for people
like me the jobs for qualified people
like me don't exist in those localities
you've got to travel for them or move
away not to be I don't to upset you with
this question but what was it like when
you had to go home and tell your family
that this was happening um I didn't it
was all over the news as well um but
yeah it is devastating this wor and I've
had um my mother fing me saying don't
worry about things we can s out I've had
my wife asking me what we're going to do
are we going to have to move back to
where I'm from um I've had my little boy
19 years old in college designing me um
and my own electrical company as a sort
of opportunity going forward wored that
um we'd have to move from the area if I
lost my job yeah it it's devastating for
the family did you say the people in
there understand that no not at all they
from a different elk the majority of
them workers had been hoping for renewed
promises from labor to push government
government into renewed negotiations
with tataa steel however their hopes
were scuppered when one Union boss ran
into Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves who
had no idea their key debate was about
to be discussed in Parliament that day
that there are parts of this which are
very difficult decarbonizing industry is
an urgent priority but in some cases the
technology is uncertain or it is
expensive but it is my contention that
getting this right is more important
than doing it quickly or necessarily at
the cheapest cost to State the obvious
we could decarbonize anything by
shutting it down and the cheapest path
will likely always involve Outsourcing
most of our industrial production to
other places but if we do that and this
is what the government's plan for Port
tber is we will spend millions of pounds
we will see huge job losses and actually
we will see global emissions rise as we
effectively offshore our emissions and
then we claim that is progress and this
would be be a fundamental political
mistake with potentially enormous
ramifications for the future of the
transition to Ned zero and we should
know this from our own past like my
honorable friend just mentioned when I
was a child growing up in the Northeast
in the 1980s there was a major
transition and we saw the end of coal
mining and ship building and the end of
the old nationalized Industries as we
knew them then and many colleagues
across the UK have similar personal
experiences some people believe the
closure is climate change hysteric and
speculate this is the first of many
manufacturing losses we'll see on the
road to Net Zero that actually to keep
blast furnaces going was inconsistent
with our Net Zero targets and therefore
what we were doing was happy to see the
steel industry closed down moved to
India and China for still to produced
under lower environmental standards then
the product shipped back and I I feel
Furious well I learned the news today
that 3,000 jobs are to go in South Wales
at P to but as the blast furnaces are to
close is this not strategic Madness for
a country it might make a good headline
to suggest that climate hysteria is
responsible for 3,000 jobs in Port
talber but the energy minister of Wales
Ving had a completely different
interpretation of events reality has had
to Dawn on a number of the brexit
promises so the idea that we'll be able
to make more steal and sell it all
around the world at a better rate has
not materialized
and I don't think anyone who has been
knowledgeable of the steel sector is
surprised by that so at the time Donald
Trump took a very protectionist approach
put extra tariffs on steel uh to prevent
Imports coming in uh the Biden
Administration has been very clear that
it doesn't want dirty steel produced so
actually when you think about this the
steel that is produced in other parts of
the world you're now going to find
additional costs on moving some of that
around and blast furnace Steel in Wales
has actually got less carbon emissions
and blastous steel produced in other
parts of the world so this has actually
been a really bad deal for steel and
your finding tariffs on Imports into the
European union now all those are the
consequence of brexit and the former
brexit chosen so anyone who pledged to
Steel Workers they would have a better
future outside the European Union needs
to look those people in the eyes again
and recognize they weren't telling the
truth it isn't what's happened and a
different future is over only going to
be possible if we reinvest in our steel
sector and we have a much more grownup
trading relationship with Europe and the
wider world the Prime Minister refused
to take a call from the first Minister
on Friday on the day that these
proposals were being made
public the first Minister wrote on the
Thursday afternoon the Prime Minister
confirmed on Monday morning he would not
be free to take a call now this is an
enormous event for Wales and the
UK when Ford closed their fact Factory
in
briend the Prime Minister the day
Theresa May took a call from the first
minister of Wales recognizing the huge
significance and the economic importance
of the choice that was being made I
think the least that the first minister
of Wales and the people of Wales does
there with some courtesy from the prime
minister of course he went out of his
way while sat in a seat in Southampton
football club to attack the Welsh
government it's not what Steel Workers
want to hear I don't think it takes
seriously the real issues with the UK
Sovereign asset in this type of Steal
making and it doesn't take seriously the
reality that there are thousands of
families who are anxious for their
future and angry at the indifference of
the current UK government on Thursday of
last week when it became clear that the
company were to make their announcement
on the Friday I wrote immediately to the
Prime Minister uh asking for uh a
telephone call with him on Friday so
that we could junly discuss how we could
best respond to the uh emerging pict
picture uh and by 8:00 Half 8 in the
morning on Friday I'd had a reply from
the Prime Minister saying that he
couldn't find time to meet me uh or talk
to me that day uh and I I I do think
that is genuinely shocking uh contrasts
very much contrast very
much I I hope you I do hope you're not
defending that I do hope no I well so
nobody in outside this room will hear
members of the conservative party
shouting at me but let me make sure the
people do know that they're shouting at
me to defend the fact that their prime
minister was unprepared to talk to the
first minister of Wales on that day and
that contrasts for me very vividly with
uh the actions of his predecessor
Theresa May on the day that Ford
announced that they were leaving
Bridgend uh uh my office contacted the
office of the Prime Minister that day
and before the end of that day I was in
a conversation with the prime min
Minister about what we could do together
to help people who were affected that's
what I was looking for from the Prime
Minister and I am genuinely baffled that
he did not feel it was a priority for
him to find the small amount of time he
would have needed that day to have that
conversation over the years Wales has
seen many major companies come and go
some have stayed but with dramatically
smaller workforces Hoover Bosch BP and
LG are just some of the companies that
used to have a big standing in Wales
even a few years ago the steel works
here at Port talber had a dramatically
larger Workforce of around 20,000 which
has now been reduced to around just
under 3,000 here the local area is still
thriving the economy is still going but
for how long apparently Hines makes all
of its beans for the UK up the road do
you know about this and it uses this
steel yeah so trust our sister plant lle
all the skill for that comes from Port
Albert and and that is then used by H
and tin in for the food industry so um
without this obviously a question mark
over um trra and with electric Arc
currently with the the technology of
electric Arc we couldn't Supply trra so
what say not part of the announcement at
the moment long-term future for them is
not looking good with it and that's
because you need virgin steel to make
those tin cans right yes you need virgin
steel of an a quality now if we lose
that there is a strong possibility we
will lose the order books for trra the
technology does move on and I and I get
that uh so it might be a few years where
they might be able to use refurbished
steel but at this present moment we need
to be feeding tra and maintain the order
books for you because once we shut down
our blast
furnaces companies are not going to be
wait in for us to spark up and an
electric Arc furnace they're going to
move elsewhere where are we going to get
orders from in 4 years time they're not
going to hang around and wait for us the
concern is as well that they'll start
planning that so if they know that the
furnaces are going to be shut off they
start sourcing new steel or they start
moving their Factory those are the other
concerns absolutely it could end up
going to Holland CU they have a plant
out there now that CES the same way as
froster does and I think that's why at
this present moment T are looking to
bring in slab or coil so we could feed
truster in this in the short term I was
there 42
years um times have
changed and just when I started work
first US was 20,000 when I was on well
was going to be I don't know so things
are looking Grim how did you take the
news when you first
heard well to tell the truth love it's
been um for the last 10 years theyve
always W about importing coils from
abroad done this for 10 years we all
been threatened with closing the oend
and the blast and all that uh but now
it's finally happening it and I know
it's all this
electric blast is coming in and all
right it's good but you know the
contractors and everything's going any
so it's been roughly can I ask you I
mean so the Tories have given half a
billion pounds to the company and now
that's going to go towards renewable
steel rather than the blast furnaces but
do you think the conservatives can care
about the town no no way whatsoever
whatsoever what I mean what would it
take to change your mind my mind yeah
but for
no for the the government say no
yeah I don't know labor coming in they
haven't got too many ideas of they so I
don't know it's just politics and
politics you don't know what the hell is
happening you're not hopeful about no no
they screwed us for the last 13 years 14
years so they're just over themselves
that's it full stop it's all for
themselves they don't give a town of
placees like this they don't give
a how do you think that Westminster
treats Wales in general particular
terrible terrible it's just the same as
and they just all the money they go to
cities big cities the same as the
councils here they're all the same
they're all well corrupt full stop
um so the council is came around here
they're all corrupt so what could you
say you just can't trust anyone what
would it take for someone to convince
you to give them your
vote million
pound it's important to remember that no
decision has been made on T Steel there
is still time for the conservative
government to strike a negotiation
between the unions and the Indian
company
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