Tata Steel UK workers vote in favour of strike against company’s job cut plans

Tata Steel UK Logjam: The British trade union fraternity on Thursday said that more than 85 per cent of its 3,000 members across all Tata Steel UK production sites have voted for strike action against the company's job cut plans. 
Earlier this year in January, Tata Steel had announced that it would close two blast furnaces at its Port Talbot steelworks at the Wales in United Kingdom. This move is expected to lead to the loss of up to 2,800 jobs by the end of this year. The union that has called for a strike did not spell out a date for industrial action, said members have voted to demand a better deal for the workforce. 

Closing down old blast furnaces

Last month, Tata Steel UK had issued a confirmation on its decision to proceed with the closure of two old blast furnaces located at its Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales. Seven months after first making the announcement, the Mumbai-headquartered steel major had said it had held several formal and informal discussions with the UK trade unions about the major transformation which preserves 5,000 jobs and secures future steel supplies.
The company also expected to create more indirect jobs in engineering and construction and reduce CO2 emissions by 5 million tonnes each year. “Tata Steel’s decision to move to greener steelmaking in Port Talbot is one that has been made by the company alone. The UK government is acting to support steelmaking in Wales and to safeguard its future,” a statement from the UK government had said.  

(With Reuters inputs)