Unions threaten 'maximum damage' at steel firm

As mothballing began at Corus's huge Redcar site, ending 170 years of mass steelmaking on Teesside, workers described the atmosphere as like a funeral.

While the search continued for a buyer for the plant – one of the area's main employers – some blamed the bosses and others the Government for not doing more to help.

The Community Union, the biggest representative of Corus workers, said any industrial action would be planned to severely damage the Indian owners Tata.

It said up to 8,000 jobs would be lost in the wider community as a result of the mothballing.

Union general secretary Michael Leahy said: "Tata Corus have walked away from Teesside.

"We know that there are a number of good faith offers on the table, yet Tata Corus are not interested.

"Make no mistake; calling this mothballing is simply sugar-coating a closure.

"A redundancy from a mothballed plant is the same as a redundancy from a closed plant."

Members will be asked to consider strike action in support of the Teesside workers.

Mr Leahy said: "We will be seeking to make surgical strikes that will cause maximum damage to Tata Corus and minimum damage to our members.

"The message from Community is clear; we have not and will not give up on steelmaking on Teesside.

"The plant is a strategic resource and the foundation for a rejuvenated British manufacturing industry."

Meanwhile, the GMB union announced it would also ballot its members at other Corus plants across the country to see if they support industrial action.

Some workers attended a rally yesterday, where family members and well-wishers joined them in a dignified, emotional protest outside the doomed site.

A brass band played as around 300 people gathered to mark the end of an era.

A 46-year-old fabricator from Middlesbrough, Stephen Readman, said: "The atmosphere here today is devastating. You just feel as if you are going to a funeral. It's as if there has been a long illness and now there's some finality."