Workers march for Corus Teesside steel works
16th July 2009
Thousands of workers from across Teesside will march through
Redcar, Teesside on Saturday (18th) in a fight to protect the
region’s Corus plant.
Unite, a leading union at the plant, is one of a coalition of
unions who say the community in Teesside will be devastated if the
Corus plant was to be shutdown, as many local families and
businesses depend on the plant for their livelihoods.
Workers and their families will be carrying placards saying:
“Save our Steel” as part of the campaign to safeguard the 150 year
old plant. This is in response to news that some 2,000 workers are
under threat since a consortium of companies pulled the plug on a
10 year purchasing contract.
Unite believes that as well as the potential loss of 2,000
direct jobs, another 1,000 jobs will be lost as a result of the
closure of Teesside Cast Products.
Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said: “In a show
of defiance Unite members will march to demonstrate that 150 years
of iron and steelmaking in Teesside matters. The loss of the Corus
plant will rip the heart out of this local community.
“The thousands of workers at Corus must be supported in order to
maintain a viable world-class industry in the future.”
Tony Woodley, Unite joint general secretary, said: “The
precarious situation of the Corus workforce in Teesside represents
the utter failure to protect the UK’s steel sector. If this site is
not secured there will be a knock on effect across the supply chain
in Teesside, many companies depend on this Corus plant.
“Workers and their families will march to send a clear message
to the management of Corus and the government, this community must
not be forgotten.”
The march has been organised by Unite, SIMA, Community, GMB and
UCATT.
Ends
For more information or for interviews please contact: Saba
Mozakka, Unite press office on: 020 7420 8916 or 07768 693 953.
Notes to Editors
DATE: Saturday, 18th July 2009
TIME: 12.00pm - 4pm, march departs at 2pm
MEETING POINT: Majuba Road car park, Redcar
On 8th May 2009 Corus announced the possible mothballing of the
Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant, with the potential loss of
2,000 jobs and another 1,000 indirect jobs at TCP. This
announcement was made following the breakdown of the talks between
Corus and its four consortium partners who walked away from the 10
year deal to take slab from TCP.
On 18th May the knock on effect to other Corus businesses on
Teesside came with an announcement of 400 job losses in areas
associated with TCP.
On 25th June Corus announced a further 428 jobs at risk across
Teesside
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