AN MP has repeated his calls for support for South Yorkshire steel workers after Tata confirmed 720 jobs would go in Speciality Steels, most on the Rotherham site.
John Healey has received confirmation in the last few days from one of the directors of Tata that the consultation has concluded and the number of job cuts will remain at 720, as announced in July.
There will be 350 compulsory redundancies. More than 500 jobs will go in Rotherham, at the Aldwarke plant for which Mr Healey is MP.
He said: “Rotherham has become the forgotten town of the steel crisis. We’re being hit just as badly as other parts of the country, hundreds of job losses have now been confirmed but the government is not giving us any of the support pledged to other steel towns.
“With hundreds of forced redundancies ahead, steel workers are facing a bleak Christmas and new year. They need all the help we can get.
“I have asked for an urgent meeting with the industry minister Anna Soubry next week.
“It’s several weeks after the steel summit, when she came to Rotherham and pledged to help – but there’s still no money on the table.”
Mr Healey has called on the government to announce a support package for South Yorkshire on the same scale as that put in place in Scunthorpe, where £9m from the government and Tata will help steel workers and the local economy. The money is for job creation, start-up businesses, companies looking to expand and re-training for affected employees.
The government made no announcement on the steel crisis in the Autumn Statement on 25 November. Mr Healey and other steel MPs had joined unions and the industry in calling on the Chancellor to announce vital help.