Polic led a hundred-thousand strong protest against plant closures.
In Britain, however, the effects of the recession on steel have been aggravated because of its outdated plant and equipment. Retaining the old-fashioned 'open hearth' method, BS's efficiency was so low that it has lost out to foreign competition not only on the world market but even on the national 'RATIONALISATION' Over the years, successive governments have tried to "solve" the problem by cutting back on 'outdated plant' (to the scale of 40,000 jobs.) Now the Tories, blaming a 'lazy, overpaid workforce' for low productivity, want to launch an all-out attack.
They intend a massive "restructuring' of the industry to serve sectors of British industry which would have to pay more for steel from abroad, and to provide basic steel for privately. owned specialist producers. Profitable sectors of the industry will, no doubt, be hived off to the In order to ram through this "rationalisation', 52,000 jobs will have to go to the wall. Death sentences are hanging over the heads of Shotton (6,400 jobs to go), Llanwern (400), Clydeside (2,165), Ravenscraig (7,390), Port Talbot (2,100), Bilston (2,000), Corby (5,000) and Redcar (1,200).
BLINKERED Far from challenging the mass attack on jobs, the leaders of the ISTC have meekly gone along with it. Allowing plants to be closed down one by one, the workforce has been picked off in isolation. The latest example of this was Corby where the ISTC leadership was quite willing for it to be closed down in exchange for a few 'golden handshakes'.
The reason for this, of course, is that they accept the arguments of the Tory government that the industry has to be made viable before it can be expanded. Having accepted this proposition, there is nothing more for them to do than to get the best deal possible in exchange for the mass redundanc. ies that occur.
The only opposition that has been forthcoming - voiced more