Tata Port Talbot talks underway but no full jobs guarantee – Jonathan Reynolds

The UK government’s new business secretary has said “job guarantees” will form part of negotiations with steel giant Tata over its Port Talbot site.

Jonathan Reynolds said there was “a better deal available” on the future of the plant, but said new technology would employ fewer people.

Mr Reynolds said he and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer had already spoken to Tata and were engaged in active negotiations over the future of the Port Talbot plant.

Asked if this meant he could secure all the jobs, he replied: “Blast furnaces employ more people than some of the new technologies available.

“So there are a number of things that you need to understand, but I completely agree with the point that we need to make sure that this is a transition that works for workers and that they are part of it.”

Mr Reynolds said the timetable for government talks was “not great”.

He said Labour’s manifesto had promised £2.5 billion on top of the £500 million already agreed by the former government.

“It’s not about underwriting loss-making businesses, perhaps in the way we might have thought about industrial policy in the past. It’s about being a partner for investment in the future,” he said.

“There is more money available for the steel industry in our plans for government, but this is about ensuring that we make this transition with the private sector together and recognise that we need to ensure that decarbonisation is not deindustrialisation and that we need to do this together.

“But there is a better deal available for Port Talbot and the steel industry as a whole – I am sure of that.”

The idea of ​​future investment offers a glimmer of hope for those seeking to mitigate the impact of Tata’s plans.

The Labour Party discussed supporting future investment in Port Talbot during the general election campaign, and Tata bosses were open to the idea.

But future investments will not save jobs in the short term. Even Tata Steel’s current commitment to build an electric arc furnace next year will require far fewer workers than are currently employed in the heavy-duty part of blast furnace production.

Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said the steel industry had been decimated.

She said investment, jobs guarantees and procurement legislation were needed so that “all UK infrastructure projects use UK steel”.

“We need to support British steel, we need to support British business – investment will be key,” she told the BBC.

Tata Steel UK chief Rajesh Nair said he was looking forward to working with the UK government on increasing green steel production.

“We will be talking to new ministers about our ambitious plans to invest in and transform Port Talbot with electric arc furnace steelmaking, and supporting our workers through this necessary but difficult transition,” he said earlier this week.

The company said the blast furnace operation was generating losses of £1 million a day and was financially unsustainable.

Tata has been in talks with unions since January, when it unveiled plans to radically transform its operations to address its financial losses and reduce carbon emissions.