THERE is "some cause for optimism" over the future of the Orb Electrical Steels plant in Newport, one leading trade unionist believes.
A meeting last week brought together government, industry, and trade union officials for the first time to try and secure the future of the city's historic Orb steelworks.
The Orb site was mothballed in December by owners Tata, bringing to a halt a proud tradition of more than a century of steelmaking at the factory.
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After that meeting, Alasdair McDiarmid, of the steelworkers' union Community, said: "The Welsh government has been working hard to support workers taking redundancy, and we are reassured that all parties would like to see electrical steels production continue at the Orb site.
"The trade unions continue to believe that if government is serious about greening the economy and manufacturing electric cars, it is nonsensical to close the UK’s only electrical steels facility and rely on imports with a high carbon footprint.
"History tells us that if we let this strategic capacity die it will be gone forever, and the politicians need to decide whether there is sufficient political will to find a solution.”
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