Members of Unite at steel giant Tata are to stage an indefinite strike from July 8 in protest at planned job cuts, the union announced.

In early April, 1,500 Unite member Tata steelworkers from Port Talbot and Newport Llanwern voted for industrial action. 

Workers at steel giant Tata are to strike in protest at the company’s plans to close blast furnaces with the loss of jobs.

Tata is switching to a greener form of steel production which requires fewer staff, so up to 2,800 jobs are being cut.

Unite said around 1,500 of its members based in Port Talbot and Llanwern, south Wales, will begin an indefinite strike on July 8.

Unite members are already working to rule and banning overtime but the announcement of a strike is a significant escalation.

The historical significance

It will be the first time in over 40 years that steel workers in the UK have taken strike action, said Unite.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tata’s workers are not just fighting for their jobs – they are fighting for the future of their communities and the future of steel in Wales.

“Our members will not stand by while this immensely wealthy conglomerate tries to throw Port Talbot and Llanwern on the scrapheap so it can boost its operations abroad.

“They know south Wales is ideally placed to take advantage of the coming boom in green steel – if the right choices are made.

“The strikes will go on until Tata halts its disastrous plans. Unite is backing Tata’s workers to the hilt in their historic battle to save the Welsh steel industry and give it the bright future it deserves.”

Are other unions taking strike action?

Community and the GMB unions are also campaigning against the plans but have ruled out taking industrial action before the General Election.

The unions expect an incoming Labour government to hold emergency talks with Tata to discuss alternatives to its proposals.

Tata has made it clear it is pressing ahead with switching from blast furnace production to an electric arc, as other steel companies are doing.

Tata says it is losing £1 million a day at Port Talbot which it has warned is unsustainable.

The company offered an enhanced redundancy package to workers affected by the plans, but this was reduced after Unite started its industrial action earlier this week.

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The strike announcement comes two years to the day since members of the RMT rail union went on strike, kicking off a wave of walkouts by hundreds of thousands of workers over pay and conditions, including nurses, teachers and junior doctors.

What happened earlier this year?

Unite members members demonstrated outside of the Senedd on April 23 to hand over a petition with 30,000 signatures calling for politicians to support UK steel. 

Mr Ian Williams, a Tata steelworker said: "It’s not good enough for politicians to sit by and watch the decimation of these communities, they need to stand up, take notice and start making different choices about procurement and giving taxpayers’ money to companies like Tata without significant job guarantees.

“The way we have been treated is quite frankly a disgrace and workers are sick of being in limbo not knowing whether they will have a job in a few weeks’ time. They have made that very clear by voting for industrial action."