Tata Steel begin winding down blast furnace after strike action called-off

Tata Steel have confirmed they have begun the process of winding down one of the two blast furnaces in Port Talbot after one union pulled their planned strike action which could have seen both furnaces ceasing this week.

Workers were told last week that because of planned strike by members of Unite from July 8, Tata could no longer be assured of sufficient resources being available to ensure safe and stable operations, with the company saying it would proceed to take steps to close both blast furnaces this week.

Strike action by members of Unite has now been called off. The union said the current industrial action such as a ban on overtime and next week’s strike had been suspended.

The company is planning to close both blast furnaces by September this year in order to build an electric arc furnace which will be able to produce greener steel.

However, to move will see thousands of jobs lost from the site, as Tata moves to making recycled steel, rather than its virgin counterpart, in Port Talbot.

Tata Steel says it has ambitions to produce net-zero steel by 2045 in the UK "at the latest" and plans to reduced 30% of its CO2 emissions by 2030.

Residents living near the Port Talbot site are now being waned that over the next few days they will see "much larger plumes of steam" and "prolonged whooshing sounds" as the winding down of Blast Furnace 5 begins.

Dean Cartwright, workers manager for coke sinter and iron at Tata, said this is "standard procedure and nothing to be concerned about".

He said: "We have now started the process of winding down operations on Blast Furnace 5."We have started to change the burden (the raw materials we put in the top of the furnace) to make sure the slag formed on top of the iron is the right type for this process, and reducing the amount of coal we inject into the furnace.

"We are pausing the furnace to install some additional instrumentation to take extra measurements and readings of things such as temperatures, gas content and so on.

"Local residents may well see some steam coming from the bleeders – this is the same as when we regularly pause the furnace and is called ‘taking the furnace off-wind’ – a bit like turning down a cooker to simmer.

"In the coming 24 hours we will return the furnace to ‘on-wind’ and continue to tap liquid iron as usual.

"In the next 48 hours we will stop adding new raw materials and bring the burden down to low levels within the furnace. It is at this stage that local residents will start to see much larger plumes of steam coming from the top of the furnace accompanied by some prolonged whooshing sounds.

"This is absolutely standard procedure and nothing to be concerned about. At every stage of this process, we have our experts monitoring every aspect of the process to make sure we bring the furnace to a close calmly and safely."

Unite said its decision to pull their members from strike action follows confirmation from the company that it was prepared to enter into negotiations about future investment. Tata had also commenced legal action against Unite’s ballot.

Two other unions representing steelworkers, Community and the GMB, are also campaigning against the plans but ruled out taking industrial action before the General Election on 4 July.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said: "We have received written confirmation from Unite Union that with immediate effect they are suspending their current action short of a strike as well as the potential strike action due to commence on Monday, 8 July.

"As a result, and given we can now be confident of ensuring appropriate resourcing of activities to operate safely, we will halt preparations for the early cessation of operations on Blast Furnace 4 and the wider heavy end in Port Talbot, planned for this week - we welcome the fact that we have avoided having to progress down this path.

"The resumption of discussions with the UKSC will progress from the position reached in the last meeting of 22 May and will focus on the future investments and aspirations for the business, and not on a renegotiation of our existing plan for the heavy-end closure or the enhanced employment support terms.

"The wind down process for Blast Furnace 5 has now begun to plan and we expect to produce the final iron at the end of this week."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "This is a significant development in the battle to protect jobs and the long-term future of steel making in south Wales. Investment from Labour secured by Unite will be key to the future of the site.

"This breakthrough would not have come about without the courage of our members at Port Talbot who were prepared to stand up and fight for their jobs. Workers were simply not prepared to stand idly by while steel making ended and their communities were laid to waste.

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