Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Steelworkers to ban overtime in protest against job losses

A general view of the Tata steel plant on Harbour Way, Port Talbot (Ben Birchall/PA)
A general view of the Tata steel plant on Harbour Way, Port Talbot (Ben Birchall/PA)

Workers at steel giant Tata are to ban overtime as part of industrial action in protest at job losses.

Unite said around 1,500 of its members based in Port Talbot and Llanwern in South Wales will take action from June 18.

Unions are opposed to the company’s plans to close blast furnaces and switch to a greener form of production which needs fewer workers.

Unite warned that strike action will be held if the company does not row back on its plans.

Steel crisis
A steel worker wearing a badge on his jacket outside the UK’s largest steel works in Port Talbot, South Wales (Ben Birchall/PA)

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Tata has miscalculated.

“Its workers know a better future is possible and they will be taking industrial action to fight for it, with Unite using every tool at its disposal to make the company change course.

“This hugely wealthy company knows UK steel capacity and jobs can be retained as the transition is made to green steel.

“Tata’s disastrous deal with the current Government would only see its other overseas operations take advantage of the coming boom in green steel at the expense of South Wales.”

Other unions are campaigning to save jobs at Port Talbot but have not announced any industrial action.

Tata says it has no option but to change the way steel is produced, adding that it has made generous redundancy offers to workers affected by its plans.

A Tata Steel spokesperson said: “We are naturally disappointed that Unite has decided to ask its members to take industrial action at Port Talbot and Llanwern.

“We have written to Unite twice during the ballot process, and again this week, to notify them of significant irregularities in the ballot process they have undertaken. We will continue to review and consider our legal next steps.

“On 22 March, we put forward a significantly enhanced, comprehensive package of support for employees impacted by the proposed transformation.

“Following further discussions with the multi-union UK Steel Committee, the company has put forward a further enhanced offer in good faith and in order to finalise discussions on the proposed Memorandum of Understanding covering our restructuring and transformation, forward aspirations for the business, and the employment support package arrangements.”