| Union leaders will convene today to discuss the crisis in the UK’s steel industry in a bid to stave off thousands of potential job losses. Representatives from steelworks across Britain will meet in London later to help prevent Tata’s Port Talbot works from closing. The Indian multinational company announced this week it plans to sell-off its loss-making UK plants, starting with the site in south Wales. Some 40,000 jobs across the country are at risk in the worst case scenario for the ailing industry, according to the IPPR thinktank. The Government is continuing in its search to help “clinch a buyer” for the business. Among those to have reportedly held talks is businessman Sanjeev Gupta, the founder of Liberty Metals Group. According to the Daily Telegraph, Marc and Nathaniel Meyohas of the Greybull investment firm are prepared to inject £400m into Tata's flagging Scunthorpe plant, which could save around 9,000 jobs. Business Minister Anna Soubry will visit the Rotherham steelworks on Tuesday. Unite assistant general secretary Tony Burke insisted the Government and Tata “need to come clean” over their intentions and prior discussions, “because so far all we've had is more questions than answers”. "The apparent lack of urgency from Sajid Javid and absence of a clear plan from the government is disturbing for the tens of thousands whose livelihoods hang in the balance and deeply troubling for British Steel's 140,000 pensioners,” he said. It comes after Business Secretary Sajid Javid revealed yesterday he had known for "a few weeks" that Tata had been looking at shutting the site in south Wales, putting at risk the jobs of 4,000 steelworkers. On hearing the news, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell called for the senior Tory’s resignation. Mr Javid also revealed the Government could encourage potential buyers of Tata's Port Talbot plant by helping with workers' pensions and offering support with energy costs. He said nationalisation of under-threat plants was “rarely the answer” in such cases, but insisted the Government could assist prospective buyers with what he called the “three Ps”. “They're going to want to look at plants, they're going to want to look at pensions and they're going to want to look at power supply,” he told the BBC's Andrew Marr show. Meanwhile, Mr McDonnell warned that taxpayers could be hit with an annual £1.5bn benefit bill for steel workers if their jobs are not saved. “We know this isn’t a zero-cost exercise,” he told the same show. “If it closes now we could be into a cost of £1-£1.5bn a year just supporting people on welfare benefits; the collapse of local economies.” |