Tata Steel on Tuesday said that it had received written confirmation from Unite Union that with immediate effect they were suspending their current action short of a strike as well as the proposed strike action due to commence on Monday July 8. “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,” a Tata Steel spokesperson said in a statement. “The resumption of discussions with the U.K. Steel Committee will progress from the position reached in the last meeting of May 22 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 spokesperson added.
The company said wind-down process for Blast Furnace 5 has now begun to plan and it expects to produce its final iron at the end of this week.
